


Love In The Ice

by BonneyQ



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: College!AU, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gray is a Hockey Player, Juvia is a Figure Skater, and they don't want to fall in love, but they do because they are meant for each other, not even sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 17:55:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 82,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7542343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BonneyQ/pseuds/BonneyQ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[College!AU] Gray Fullbuster is the Captain of the hockey team of Magnolia University and he is not looking for love, not after being dumped six months before by his ex. What he didn't expect was to meet Juvia Lockser, a Figure Skater that has the power to take his mind off his problems and to make him smile. Maybe love will find him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Love In The Ice

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I told on Tumblr I would write a story about Gray being a Hockey player and Juvia an Ice Skater. Mix it all up and you'll have this crazy College!AU. Let's see how it turns out. The lyric is of a song of the same name as this story, from Tohoshinki.

****  


**#**

**Love In The Ice**

**#**

" _Those freezing hands aren't your fault_ __  
_They carry scars from long before_  
_Afraid to love someone,_  
_You turn your back on the other side of the words..._

_Like ice, the embraced heart slowly starts to thaw_

_For anyone to be loved by someone,_  
_Makes life in this world shine_  
_If it was me, I'd make your heart warm once more_  
_With eternal tenderness"_

**#**

The first time he saw her, she was leaving the ice rink as his team was going in to train. Her azure hair was what caught his attention, because the moment she stepped out, she let it loose from the tight bun and a mess of curls fell and almost reached the middle of her back.

He lost sight of her when the rest of his team passed by him, all very excited and yelling, as usual. The thought of the mystery girl slipped from his mind and he didn't give a second thought.

That was until a couple of months later, one of his friends' girlfriend, Lucy Heartfilia, appeared with a girl who worn the most unusual clothes he's ever seen someone go to a party with – a dark blue dress with fur by the collar and end of the sleeves and some weird hat, hair curled at the end in an unusual hairstyle – and introduced her as Juvia Lockser.

Everyone said their 'hellos' and 'nice to meet yous', but for mostly of the conversation, the new girl stayed quiet, seated at a couch, looking around as if she wanted to get out and he couldn't actually blame her; she did look quite lost at the party, the only person she knew was Lucy and the blonde was a social butterfly. Taking pity on her plus the fact that he wasn't really in a partying mood, Gray sat next to her and she looked surprised to see him. "Sorry, I'm just not in the mood to party. I was actually studying when the idiots I call friends barged into my apartment and dragged me here."

"Oh." She said, in a small voice. "Juvia will just… sit quietly here, then."

"Nah…" He shrugged. "I just don't want to speak to _them_. You look in need of company, though."

"Juvia looks that pathetic, huh?" She groaned.

He smiled and took a sip of his beer. "Just a bit out of place. Where exactly did Lucy find you?"

"Trying a dress for my next performance." She sighed "The next thing I know, she is giving me advices to what I should wear, then grabbed me to have lunch, called a few times to meet up and tonight…"

"That's Lucy, alright." He chuckled. "What exactly are you performing?"

"Juvia is a Figure Skater." She told him. "The next performance is in three weeks and Juvia needed a new dress."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "I play Hockey."

She narrowed her eyes and gasped. " _That's_ where Juvia knows you from!"

"You've seen me in the games?" He asked, rather smugly – he was, after all, one of the best players that season.

"Oh, no. Juvia has seen your team kick the Figure Skaters out when it is time for your practice and we are still there. They are not the… kindest when we are training when they arrive."

He groaned. "Sorry. There are many idiots in my team." He stopped for a moment, noting her blue hair and the mention of the rink. "Oh, so it was _you_ I saw the other day at the rink. The moment the guys appear you just vanished."

"They can be jerks with us." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter Magnolia University's Skater Team is one of the institutions that has the most trophies and medals in the country."

"You do?" He was surprised. "I didn't know that. I mean, I knew the University had a program, but I never saw it, or knew how many prizes it had."

"Hockey is much bigger to people here." She took a sip of her soda. "Your team is what this college is known for."

Gray looked sheepishly down. "I can't say it's not, but I'll talk to them to ask nicely or to wait for you guys to finish your training."

"Thank you." She offered him a shy smile. "Juvia is going to try to watch one of your games, but all that violence…"

"It's not violent." She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, sometimes it's pretty violent, but it's thrilling." He smiled. "While you are playing with your team, you are one. And when we win… it feels great."

"Juvia can see that you are very passionate about it." The blunette smiled.

"Yeah. My dad taught me when I was a kid and after my mother died, we… bonded over it." Her blue eyes soften at the mention of his mother. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She waved him off and, to alleviate the tension, she changed the subject. "What are you majoring in?"

"Architecture." Gray was glad for the deviance of his mother's death. "Got a scholarship to play hockey."

"That's nice."

"You?"

"Juvia wants to be a Marine Biologist." She smiled. "With the Skating, Juvia has a partial scholarship, otherwise would've been even harder to stay in college."

Gray hummed in agreement, college was very expensive. "A Marine Biologist, huh?"

"Juvia has always been fascinated with the sea." She explained. "Juvia transferred last semester from Phantom U. Her dream job is to work at Magnolia Aquarium. They have the best research lab in the country."

"I also didn't know that." He raised an eyebrow. "To me the Aquarium was just… you know, where they had the fish." She giggled and suddenly he felt stupid and his cheeks burned. "And now I just sounded like any other moron jock. I'm shutting up now."

"It's alright." Her smile was bright. "Most people don't know it, but just behind the exposition of the fish, there's a whole research lab: they have their own boats, equipment…" Gray nodded. "Don't feel too bad, Juvia still doesn't see the reason behind Hockey besides a bunch of grown men going after a disk." She winked at him. "There you go, now you are not the only one who sounded like a moron."

"Juvia!" They heard Lucy's voice and both looked at the direction of the sound: the blonde woman had her coat on and was waving her hand so Juvia could join her.

"A second!" The blunette answered and then got up from the couch. She turned into Gray's direction and smiled when he got up as well. "Thanks for keeping Juvia company."

"Thanks for giving me a break from my friends." He chuckled and accepted her hand when she offered it to him.

"It was very nice to meet you."

He shook her hand. "Likewise." The blunette let go of his hand and told him good-bye, turned around and take a few steps in Lucy's direction, before pausing it and return to stand in front of him.

"Sorry, we talked a long time but Juvia didn't get your name."

To tell the truth, Gray was a bit surprised: the Hockey team was very well known across the university and being the captain, even if people never saw him, they still knew his name. "Gray Fullbuster." He said, amused.

She blushed. "Right, sorry. I'm Juvia Lockser."

"I know." He smiled.

"So… good bye. Again." Her face was so red Gray could easily compare with a tomato when she turned around and actually left the party. When he sat back down on the couch, he was grinning.

**#**

The second time he saw her, he arrived early to his practice and there were four skaters on the rink and it was hard to miss the blur of blue spinning in the middle of it. Gray's eyebrows shot up, finding himself actually pretty impressed with the movement. As a skater, he knew that was not easy.

Gray sat by the bleachers and watched the training for a few minutes, noticing that the other three skaters completely ignored Juvia, even when she tried to talk to them and he frowned – that wasn't right; he had talked with her for just a little while, but he could see she was nice and she was clearly trying to fit in, the other girls were freezing her out.

He hated seeing good people being singled out.

Fifteen minutes after he arrived, the rest of his team started to make a ruckus at the entrance and Gray saw the girls give a resigned sigh and start to go away, but they were clearly not done and the hockey practice should only start in another ten minutes.

The guys went straight for the rink and when Gray noticed that, he got up and whistled, gaining the attention of his teammates and the skaters.

" _Hey_!" The guys jumped. "They have another ten minutes on the rink. Behave, you were not raised in barns." Gray said and the guys had the decency to look ashamed before they went to sit on the bleachers to wait.

Juvia seemed to recognize him, because she skated his way and he stepped closer to the rink, waiting for her to get to him.

"I told you I would talk to them." He shrugged.

She smiled. "Thank you. We need these last minutes to wrap it up."

"Well, we do need to show people we are not a bunch of animals who can't wait a few minutes." Gray said. "You did good with that… spinning… thing."

Juvia chuckled. "It was a layback spin with catch-foot." She told him. "It's pretty hard. Want to learn?"

Gray snorted. "I don't think I can be as graceful as you and I my teammates would sure laugh at me. I'll stick with making goals and you do the layback thing."

"Alright." She smiled. "When's your next game? Juvia wants to see if you are really as good as you seem to be. Juvia won't know what is happening, but she'll cheer when everyone else does."

"Good enough." Gray shrugged. "Next Thursday is our next game. Lucy is coming too with some of our friends, you should come with them, I have this feeling you don't go out much."

Juvia bit down her lower lip and she seemed to think about it. "Maybe Juvia can change her shift and come."

"Shift?"

"Juvia works at a diner." She explained. "Juvia will talk to Lucy-san and figure something out."

"Oh." He nodded. "Alright, then." Gray raised his chin and Juvia looked over her shoulders to see the other girls leaving the rink. "They are not too friendly towards you, are they?"

"Not really." Juvia sighed. "Being the new girl is not easy."

"New girl?" He asked at the same time his team invaded the rink. "Goddammit, they _do_ seem as if they were raised in a barn."

"Well, the girls already left the rink." Juvia chuckled. "It's fine. At least they waited."

"Just tell me if they don't wait anymore and I'll deal with them." Gray sighed. "Sorry, I have to…" He pointed to the rink.

"Yes, of course. Juvia needs to come out." She skated towards the exit while Gray grabbed his duffel bag and walked the same direction. Juvia was seated, taking off her skates and he sat by her side, taking his own skates from his bag and putting them on. "So, you are the Captain?" He looked at her. "They wouldn't listen to just anyone." She explained.

Gray granted her that. "Yeah. I became Captain last semester, the last one graduated and then I was chosen."

"You must be a good player and good leader for them to respect you this much." She put on her sneakers back on, cheap ones, he noticed.

"You say that after just witnessing one interaction?"

She stood up and grabbed her skates. "They stopped without hesitance, they didn't even fight it. It means they respect you and that's good. Respect is better than fear." Gray blinked and she reached for her hair bun and let her hair loose. "Juvia will try to make it to the game."

"Alright. When we win, we'll go out to eat something. Lucy will most likely drag you with us."

" _When_ you win, huh?" Gray just shrugged and Juvia giggled. "Juvia will want to go to this celebration. As you said, Juvia doesn't go out much. It might be fun." Juvia smiled at him. "Have a nice practice."

"Thanks. See you around."

She waved at him. "Bye." Gray watched as she walked away, going to where she probably had her own bag. There was something about her he couldn't put his finger on.

"Hey, Gray! Are we going to practice or you are going to stare at your new girlfriend's ass?"

Gray scowled because there was no way Juvia didn't hear that and it was highly disrespectful, especially when he was _not_ staring at her ass. Much. Maybe a little. It was a nice derriere, actually.

"Well, Kyle, you speak that way again about a girl you don't know or any girl _at all_ , I might have to whoop _yours_. Stop being a jackass and focus on your defense, which was awful last game." Gray grabbed his helmet and looked at his team just in time to see his teammates tease Kyle. "Now, are we going to practice or do you guys need a pep talk?"

**#**

The third time they met, Gray was studying at the library and his eyelids were getting heavier by the second. He was almost falling asleep when he heard a chair being pulled over and he was surprised to see Juvia sitting next to him, a smile on her lips.

"Boring subject?"

Gray yawned. "You have no idea. Test's tomorrow and I know nothing." He opened one eye and looked at her. "Never saw you here before."

"Juvia is not very noticeable." She smiled and Gray had to agree that with that dark blue coat and long skirt, she wouldn't get much attention – but Gray, had seen her just a few days ago while training and she was wearing tights and a much more flattering coat then, knew she had a pretty lovely figure – and he just groaned, hiding his face on his hands. "Wanna some help studying?"

He removed his hands and frowned at her. "You know something about architecture?"

"Well, Juvia knows enough to tell you that this right here makes me remember of Agrabah, from Aladdin." She pointed at a picture.

Gray looked down to his book and saw what she was pointing to. "That's the Taj Mahal."

"My mistake." She shrugged. "This one is from Mulan, isn't it?"

He snorted. "Forbidden City in China."

The blunette smiled. "This one? Juvia is sure she's seen on Frozen."

"Hôtel De Glace, Canada." Gray told her. "Please, don't start singing Let It Go. Even _I_ know the lyrics by now."

Juvia put a hand on his arm. "See? You know your architecture; you'll do well tomorrow."

"Yeah, because tomorrow's subject is going to be about real buildings that inspired Disney's movies." He rolled his eyes. "It would be the same thing if I opened your book" he pointed at the large dark green book she was holding "and starting to point it out Nemo, Dory, and Bruce."

"Oh, you are a Nemo kid, huh?"

"Please. _Everyone_ is a Nemo kid." Gray scoffed.

"That is true." She smiled. "Well, if you had done that, Juvia would do just what you did: correct you." Gray raised his eyebrows. "You corrected me, it means you know what you are saying and tomorrow you'll do great."

"Hell, I did correct you, didn't I?" Gray asked and she just smiled. "Maybe I am not as stupid as I thought I was. I mean, I know about these structures, about their history... basically tomorrow's test."

"There you go." She patted his arm. "Maybe it's time for you to go home? You were almost falling asleep when Juvia arrived."

"I spent last night studying." He yawned and gathered his books, putting them in his backpack. "I'll just go home and sleep. I know what I know, god help me tomorrow." He zipped it up and looked at her. "Are you done here? I can walk with you. It's late."

She stood up and nodded. "All done, Juvia was on her way out when she saw you."

Gray waited for her to start walking to follow her. "The library is going to close soon. Do you always study this late?"

"Whenever Juvia has practice in the mornings and a night out at her job." She said as they left the building. "Today we practiced for a few hours longer than usual because the rink was not schedule for your team."

"We had our practice yesterday morning; earlier, actually, because _your_ team didn't have it." Gray told her. "So, Lucy says that you are coming to the game."

"Yes. A colleague changed shifts with me. Juvia is nervous because… well, you'll probably get hurt." She made a cute distressed face. "I don't like when people get hurt."

He chuckled. "Yeah, don't freak out when you see players get thrown around."

Her nose wrinkled. "Not really a reason for me to go."

"It's part of the fun." Gray shrugged. "Don't worry: we are good, we are ready to fight back and we'll _win_."

"You are awfully confident."

"Realistic." He corrected her. "My team is the best one."

She seemed as if she was about to say something else, but stopped when she noticed there was a bus at the stop. "Sorry, Juvia really has to go, that's the last bus."

"If you want a ride, my car is just-" He started, but she interrupted him.

"Don't want to burden you – Juvia lives really far away; plus, you need to rest for tomorrow." The blunette gave a few steps back. "Good luck on your Disney test tomorrow and see you after the game. Good night." She turned around and ran towards the bus.

"Good night." Gray yelled and waited until she was safely inside the bus before walk towards his car. "' _Disney test_ '." He laughed out loud. Well, she was something.

**#**

The fourth time he saw her, she was with his friends, waiting for him and his team to come out from the locker room. They had just beat the other team with a large advantage and everyone seemed to want to congratulate him at once. They were one step closer to winning the season.

After a few minutes and being stopped every few steps, he finally reached his friends and all of them made a big fuss out of it.

"Nice one, Ice Brain." Lucy's boyfriend, Natsu, said, his hand in a fist, to which Gray bumped with his own.

"Thanks, Fire Breath." Gray laughed when Lucy wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"That was great!"

"Yeah." He returned the hug and let her go. "And this time I made it out without bleeding once!"

"Atta boy!" The blonde laughed and stepped next to her boyfriend, who put an arm around her waist to bring her closer to him. A few friends more – Erza, Cana, Elfman and Lisanna – gave him pats on the back for his performance. Finally, Lucy pointed to a place a bit behind them. "Someone else came with us tonight."

Gray looked to where she was pointing at and saw Juvia, who, just like his friends, was wearing a dark blue and yellow jersey from the Fairies, Magnolia U's mascot. Her hair was in pigtails and underneath the too large jersey, he could see she worn tiny shorts (and he couldn't help but to notice how absolutely fantastic her legs were – he liked to think he wasn't a guy who had a preference when asked about a woman's body, but if he _had_ to, it would be legs and goddammit hers were off the charts).

"Told you we would win." He told her when she stepped closer to him.

"That was so exciting!" She was almost buzzing, a grin on her lips and her eyes seemed to sparkle. "It was so brutal," she said in a darker tone before perking up again "but it was so very exciting! Every time you guys scored it was like my heart was about to burst out of my chest! Juvia can only imagine what it was like to play it!"

"Maybe I'll teach you one day." Gray laughed and noticed his friends gathering closer. "We are going out to eat, are you coming?"

"Of course she is coming." Lisanna exclaimed and put an arm around the blunette's shoulder. "I'll personally drag you if you say 'no'."

"She'll come with us." Cana said with a definite tone and watched as Lisanna pulled the blunette closer to their other friends. Cana, then, put an arm around Gray and told him in a low voice: "Okay, here's the thing: we like her. All of us. She's nice, she's sweet and she can be kickass; a perfect fit for our group." The brunette looked to him. "She likes you and we were talking and she might be exactly what you need. I mean, she is the opposite of that bitch Daphne, that's for sure."

Gray scowled at the mention of his ex. "Cana…"

"Look, Gray, Daphne broke up with you six months ago and ever since then, you haven't given any girl a second glance. I saw it when you talked to Juvia back at that party and it finally seemed as if someone removed a stick out of your ass. And just now, you smiled at her. You smiled at a girl who is _not_ an old friend, so we'll take as a win."

"I just met her a few times, Cana." He tried to reason with his friend.

"And I am not telling you to marry her tomorrow." The brunette pointed out. "You might just win another friend by the end of this, we never know. What I am saying is: lower your defenses a bit and enjoy someone who has made you smile. Get to know her, someone new in your life might be a good thing."

"I hate you guys matchmaking." He mumbled.

"Yeah, well, you are friends with a bunch of girls and you really expect we won't meddle into your love life? Poor you." Cana rolled her eyes. "You are lucky Mirajane is not here."

"Just… stop it." Gray looked at the direction of where his other friends were alongside with the girl with blue hair. "I like her, she is nice, but I'll have her as a _friend_ at most. I really don't think I can go any higher than that."

"We never know." Cana shrugged and started to straighten his shirt, then his hair. "Be nice, don't be creepy, don't be rude – I know your setting is to be rude to everyone –, remember to say 'please' and 'thank you', and…"

"Oh my god, stop it." Gray slapped her hand away when she tried to clean a spot on his face after she licked her thumb. "I _know_ how to act, Cana, _thank you_."

"Look at you, all grown up." She pretended to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye and Gray rolled his. "Off you go."

"You are ridiculous."

**#**

Gray was outside of Frank's Burgers enjoying the evening air, needing a little space from his friends. His mother had called just a few minutes before to congratulate him and it was the perfect excuse to leave the ruckus inside.

"Oh, sorry." He heard a soft voice behind him. "Cana-san said this was the way to the bathroom."

He groaned at the mention of Cana's friend, knowing she was plotting. "It's fine, I was just taking a call from my mother, she was congratulating for the game."

She frowned in confusion. "Juvia thought your mother was…" The blunette let the phrase in the air and he was confused as well until he remembered their first conversation.

"Oh, no, no, no… She _is_." He said. "I was talking with my stepmother. My dad remarried a few years after my mom died. I just started calling her 'mom' after a while."

"That's nice. I'm glad you and your father found someone."

Gray snorted. "Some _ones_ , actually. Mom had two kids of her own. Suddenly, it went from just me and my dad, to another mom, a brother and a sister." He sighed. "We have a crazy relationship."

"Well, at least you have one." When he looked at her in question, she shrugged. "Juvia never met her parents."

"I'm… sorry to hear that." He told her with honesty, he remembered the pain when his mother died and to have never known a parent could be even worse.

"Juvia's used to it by now." They stayed in silence for a few moments before she turned to look at him. "So, how was your test?" He frowned. "Your Disney test, the one you needed to know what to call the castle from Frozen."

He actually smiled. "As it turned out, I got an A-."

"Congratulations!" She smiled as well. "See? Juvia knew you could do it."

"Just so you know, there was a question about the Forbidden City and all I could think about was that song about 'make a man out of you'." He told her and the blunette giggled. "So, thank you for that."

"Well, you are welcome, that is a very good song." She crossed her arms above her stomach. "Tonight we should celebrate that as well as your win."

"I don't think they will be too excited about a grade tonight, let them enjoy it."

"You know, maybe next time you can watch Juvia in her competition to see _her_ win." She said and he looked at her – Gray could clearly see her cheeks getting pinker and if he had to guess, she had to summon a quite deal of courage to ask him that. "The others are coming, you should too."

He took a moment to answer. "When's the next one?"

"As it happens, next week." Her cheeks got even pinker. "It's here in Magnolia, so…" She suddenly seemed nervous. "Sometimes we need to travel for the competition, but not this time. It's going to be right here in Magno- oh, I said that already, didn't I? Sorry. Juvia got nervous. It's been a while since people she likes watched her. Certainly no one from here."

"What you mean?"

"Juvia has been here for just three months, she transferred from Phantom U." She clarified. "Juvia doesn't have a family, so... they were all strangers at the bleachers."

"Not on your next one. We'll be there." Gray told her. "And, quoting you: 'I won't know what is happening, but I'll cheer when everyone else does'."

"Sounds good enough." She put a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "Juvia just hopes she doesn't get too nervous and slips. That would give the others too much pleasure." She mumbled the last part, but Gray heard it.

"What others?"

"The other skaters. They don't like Juvia because she is the best one here."

"And the most humble."

"It is the truth." She shrugged. "They act cold towards me because Juvia is good and doesn't want to make a life out of it." Seeing his frown, the blunette kept talking. "Juvia wants to be a Marine Biologist and Skating is a way of achieving that dream. It's not my fault I am better than them; just because someone is good at doing a certain thing, it doesn't mean it's what they _want_ to do it for the rest of their lives. Juvia loves skating, and she loves even more because it is what will make my dream come true, but it is not _my_ dream: it's _theirs_." She looked up to the starry sky. "They probably think the talent is wasted on me."

"Hey, I've seen you do the…" he tried to remember the name "layback spin." He was proud of himself for remembering it. "Trust me, you need both talent and a very strong will to train _that_. If you won a scholarship, it means you are talented and it is not a waste because you _are_ using it for something good: your future. Don't care about what they say, your real friends will appreciate your gifts."

She was smiling by the time he stopped speaking and biting down her lower lip and just stared at him for a few moments before she took two steps, tip toed and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

Gray looked her in the eyes and then his gaze went to her lips for a moment, his heart raced and for just a second he wondered if she would let him kiss her before he cleared his throat and took a step back. His cheeks were probably pink by the way they warmed up. Damn it. "You are welcome. Don't worry, I'll tell the people going to your competition to cheer on your performance. And to boo the mean ones."

"Please, don't." She chuckled and they stayed in a comfortable silence for a few moments before she point at the door back to the burger shop. "Juvia really needs to go, she was _really_ looking for the bathroom when she found you."

"Sure, go ahead." Gray nodded. "I'll go in as well, I just needed some time away from them. They can be incredibly nosey when they want to."

"Juvia is starting to get that." Juvia started to walk towards the door. "But they mean well. It's nice."

Gray hummed in agreement and held the door open for her to get in. Cana's words came to his mind, then. Ever since he met Juvia, he had thought less and less about Daphne, that was for sure and after every time he met her, he had felt good.

It would go nowhere, so he wouldn't even start to go down a dangerous road like before about kissing her or how beautiful her legs (and _her_ in a whole) were.

He could use a new friend.

And _only_ a friend.

 


	2. Shatter Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Juvia performs is Shatter Me – Lindsey Stirling ft Lzzy Hale, if you want to hear it.

 

Juvia could feel her hands sweating as she finished lacing her skates and tried to look at herself in a mirror; it was the first time she was wearing the dress Lucy helped pick. She never worn white before for her performances and she was feeling a little self-conscious, checking on her make-up as well and making sure her hair was right.

For the first time people she actually liked would watch her perform. Usually, she wouldn’t even mind the audience, already used with it – she had performed since she was fourteen. A decade later faces became irrelevant, but earlier that day Lucy, Cana and Lisanna had texted her telling how excited they were to see her.

It made Juvia feel nauseated.

Having friends believing in her was too new for her, having had only one friend for most of her life she was trying to get used to the idea of support.

The other girls who were supposed to be in her team barely looked at her, the only one who spoke to her was her coach and only to give her directions – Juvia knew she was the best option to win the medal and Juvia needed to keep her scholarship.

She was going through her routine inside her mind when she noticed the girl being called to perform was the one who would go before her, so the blunette got up and after having another look, she went to stand by the rink.

Juvia looked to the crowd on the bleachers, searching for her friends and her eyes watered when she unmistakably found them: it was hard not to when there were large signs with her name, some even had glitter on them. No one ever did that before.

“Are you alright?” One of the contestants asked her.

Juvia smiled. “Never better, thank you.” She couldn’t see very well who was who, but it was rather a large party who went to see her. The blunette barely notice when the figure skater left the rink after receiving a round of applause, but paid attention to the scores – not bad.

“And now, a contestant from Magnolia University: Juvia Lockser.” She heard; Juvia raised her chin, pulled her shoulders back and entered the rink with a new resolve to win. She wouldn’t let those signs be for nothing.

**#**

Juvia skated to the middle of the rink while the crowd clapped and cheered. She went in with a large smile and stopped at the position she would begin her choreography: arms up, facing her right and her left foot just a bit behind the right. She waited for the song to start and just as the melody began, she forgot everything else and focused on the performance, moving her arms slowly.

_I pirouette in the dark_

_I see the stars through me_

_Tired mechanical heart_

_Beats until the song disappears_

 

The moment the music started to pick it up, she started to skate forward to get the impulse for her moves, performing a perfect axel to her excitement.

_Somebody shine a light_

_I'm frozen by the fear in me_

_Somebody make me feel alive_

_And shatter me_

_So cut me from the line_

_Dizzy, spinning endlessly_

_Somebody make me feel alive_

_And shatter me!_

 

The moment the violin solo began, she had impulse enough to do the Biellmann spin and it was perfectly timed with

_Shatter me!_

_Somebody make me feel alive_

_And shatter me!_

 

Juvia stopped for less than a second to turn to her left, skated and performed a Layback spin with catchfoot; not perfect in her opinion, but good enough.

_If I break the glass, then I'll have to fly_

_There's no one to catch me if I take a dive_

_I'm scared of changing, the days stay the same_

_The world is spinning but only in gray_

_If I break the glass, then I'll have to fly_

_There's nobody to catch me if I take a dive_

_I'm scared of changing, the days stay the same_

_The world is spinning but only in gray_

_Somebody make me feel alive_

_And shatter me!_

 

The blunette finished her performance with a perfect upright spin, arms and chin up, breathing hard. Her heartbeat was so loud she barely heard the crowd cheering.

She was going to win.

**#**

Juvia still had her hair in a bun when she stepped out of the locker room, her bag on her shoulders and her silver medal hanging from her neck resting between her breasts. She sighed – she had been so certain she’d get the gold medal, but another girl had better score than her by a very small margin, earning her a second place.

It would be enough for her to keep her scholarship alongside, of course, with her grades and second place was better than nothing, but she would have to work harder to get gold the next time as her trainer had told her ( _scolded_ her, really). Maybe if she trained an hour more every day? She would need to wake up a bit earlier to –

“Look! There she is!” Juvia heard a familiar voice say and it brought her back from her thoughts and what she saw made her stop on her tracks.

There were eight people there, all of them with smiles on their faces and clapping. Lisanna had a sign with _‘Team Juvia’_ written in glitter, Cana had another saying the same thing with their University colors and Levy had another one. The next thing she knew, Lucy was hugging her.

“You were _amazing_!”

Still confused and amazed, Juvia hugged the blonde back. “What are you doing here? Juvia thought you left.”

“Without seeing you? Fat chance.” Cana stepped closer and put her arms around the two girls. “You got the medal!”

“Silver.” Juvia said, looking down, her eyes watering a bit. “That’s the third one in a row. Juvia will need to do much better now to-”

“You are kidding me, right?” Lisanna was exasperated. She gave her pink sign to Natsu and went to stand next to the blunette. “There were twenty girls tonight and you won the silver medal by such a small margin it is the same as if you had won the gold! And you were pretty great!” Lisanna looked to the others from the group. “Wasn’t she great?”

“So great!” Droy and Jet said at the same time, nodding.

“Very manly.” Which was a high compliment coming from Elfman, she learned.

“It was _so_ cool!” Natsu cheered. “I couldn’t do half of that without breaking at least a couple of bones after falling.”

“That’s because you’re a moron.” Gray said, slapping his friend on the back of his head before looking at Juvia. “But he is right, it was very cool.”

Juvia could feel her cheeks get warmer when she looked at him; handsome as always, wearing a white coat and staring at her with a smirk on his lips. God, she hadn’t felt that way for so long regarding a boy she had forgotten how the rapid heartbeat and sweaty hands made her feel silly.

“Thank you.” She whispered and looked down.

“Well, now we need to celebrate your win.” Cana said and everyone cheered.

**#**

Just like when Gray’s team had won their game, the group went to Frank's Burgers to party and Juvia was having the night of her life, watching her new friends tease and fight each other. Just like the other time, she felt more than welcomed by everyone there.

Seeing that many of them had to work or classes early the next day, it was just a little after eleven p.m. when they decided to leave. They were sorting themselves out with rides when Juvia told them she would just take the bus.

“You are _not_.” Cana gasped.

“It’s _late_. No one is going home on their own.” Levy pointed out.

“But-”

“Don’t fight it.” Natsu said from a few feet away while he had his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulder. “When they gang up on you, it’s pointless.”

“We will convert us to our side soon.” Lucy winked.

“Oh, great. Just what we need: another girl in your army to dictate our lives.” Gray rolled his eyes in annoyance but even Juvia could see it was fake.

“That’s not manly.” Elfman muttered, after all he had Lisanna and Mirajane as sisters; plus, Juvia knew he had a girlfriend who traveled a lot for her work and he was as whipped as they come, according to Lisanna’s gossip.

“It’s just that Juvia lives very far away and-” The blunette tried, but was cut off.

“Another reason you are taking a ride.” Cana said with a final tone. “Lisanna is going with Elfman, obviously; Jet is taking Droy and Levy home; Natsu is taking Lucy and I am taking a ride from Gray, since we live at the same direction, and now you are coming with us. It’s closer for Gray to give you a ride than anyone else.” She shrugged. “Now come on,” the brunette took Juvia’s hand and pulled her “you too, Gray. I need my beauty sleep.”

“You should sleep more, then; it’s not being very effective.” Gray said under his breath and Juvia had to hide a chuckle when Cana stated she heard him.

**#**

“Well, this is me.” Cana informed when Gray pulled over a simple building. She had insisted Juvia took the passenger’s seat next to Gray, telling her she would be dropped off first and that way Gray wouldn’t be like a chauffeur. “It was fun tonight, congratulations again, Juvia.”

The blunette smiled over her shoulder to her friend and then reached for her bag, looking for her phone – she hadn’t texted Gajeel yet about the results. When she found it, she looked to her side and saw Gray looking at the back of the car over his shoulder.

“ _Shut up. Shut. Up._ ” He whispered, paying no attention to the woman next to him, while speaking with Cana.

Frowning, Juvia looked to the backseat and saw the brunette pointing in Juvia’s direction rather persistently until she saw Juvia watching her. Cana, then, smiled. “Good night.” She leaned between the seats and kissed Juvia’s cheek and then Gray’s, whispering something to him, laughing when he told her to leave.

Gray looked at her, cheeks clearly rosier than before. “Forget about her. Where do you live?” Once she told her the name of the neighborhood, his eyebrows rose in surprise. “You _do_ live far.” Gray pulled away from Cana’s driveway as soon as she was safely inside. “There are good apartments next to the University, you know?”

“They are not in Juvia’s price range.” She smiled and he nodded in understanding, falling in silence. Juvia finally checked her phone and saw she had a new text and smiled when she read it.

**From: Gajeel-kun**

_21:15: How was it?_

**To: Gajeel-kun**

_23:45: Silver. Could’ve done better._

**From: Gajeel-kun**

_23:46: You know you couldn’t, idiot. Be happy you won anything at all. Moron._

Juvia snorted, thinking how insensitive her friend was but she was used to it after fifteen years of friendship; the first time she won a gold medal, he had patted her on the head and told her it was nothing more than her obligation after they spent all of their money on her skates.

“Boyfriend?” For a moment she had forgotten she was in Gray’s car. She looked at him, his eyes on the road ahead and if she hadn’t heard him, she’d thought he was completely interested on driving.

“What?” She frowned, not really getting the meaning until he let go of the wheel and drove with one hand as he waved towards her phone. Realization dawned on her. “ _Oh no_. No, no, _no_. It’s a friend of Juvia’s asking how it was. We’ve known each other for so long he’s the closest thing Juvia has for a brother.”

“Sorry for prying.”

“Don’t worry.” She felt herself blush. “We met at foster care, took care of each other there and never really stopped. We’ve had our disagreements, but he’s the closest thing to family Juvia has.”

Gray nodded. “I know a thing or two about siblings; you can’t love them more but sometimes want to kill them.”

“Spot on.” She giggled and told him to take a right. “When Juvia discovered she could ice skate well enough to get a scholarship, she had little money to buy skates and a suitable dress for competitions. Gajeel-kun gave me all the money he had and went with Juvia to choose a dress and that was more surprising than anything else – if you saw him, you’d understand he’s not the type of a guy who likes to choose pastel colors with glitter. But he did it for me.”

“When my mother died and my father remarried, I was acting out, you know?” Gray told her, following her instruction to turn left two times in a row. “I still missed my mother and suddenly there was this new woman with her children sharing our house. My mom, I called her by her name back then: Ur, sat next to me and told me that sometimes you are not born into your family, instead you needed to find them, that’s why she was so happy to have found my dad and I. My brother Lyon was adopted by her when he was six, later on my dad adopted him as well.

“I thought about that a lot when she talked to me and I realized that I had been born into a family, but mom was gone, just like Ur had lost her husband. Somehow, our broken families found each other and became one.” He glanced at her direction. “I guess you found your family too, huh?”

“Yes.” Juvia smiled. “She couldn’t have found a better brother if she tried.”

“That’s good.” He nodded. “No one should spend their life alone.”

Juvia hummed in agreement. “At least Juvia has him.”

“And you made friends who will last a _long_ time.” Gray snorted. “You are in the group now and you saw the girls: once you are on their grip, no escape.”

“Juvia doesn’t think she wants to escape.” She smiled. “They are nice.”

“They are.” He agreed. “I’ve known them since my first day at Magnolia University and before I knew it, they refused to leave me alone. They are my best friends.”

“That’s good. We can never have enough good friends you can trust.”

“True.” They stayed in silence for a few moments. “So, silver medal, huh? I can’t say that I know much about the figure skating or scores, but it was pretty damn good, you know? I didn’t even need to cheer when people cheered because I knew it was amazing.”

“Thank you.” Juvia blushed, eyes sparkling with how genuine he sounded.

“And through a completely layman’s eyes, those judges should’ve given you the gold. That other girl was good, but you were better.”

The blunette shook her head. “No, Juvia messed up at her catchfoot. Hers was better. It was fair enough, Juvia guesses. Juvia will just have to practice harder; she already had an earful from her coach.”

Gray frowned. “I’ve seen you practice and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone practice as hard. Plus, it’s a silver medal, you brought a medal back to the University!”

Juvia shrugged. “Either way: practice harder.”

He glanced her way again and nodded. “Alright then.”

“Turn right and we arrive at Juvia’s place.” She pointed and he did as asked, stopping in front of the building and she undid the seatbelt. “Thank you for the ride.”

He had a frown when she looked at him. “Do you live alone?”

The question caught her a bit off guard, but she answered anyways. “Yes.”

“That friend you mentioned, does he live nearby?” The question was even stranger than the first.

“Uh… no. Gajeel-kun lives next to the junkyard he works, since it’s free of charge. Half an hour away from here, at least. He takes the bus.” She frowned.

“And you work the night shifts?” Gray asked and she nodded. “You arrive home at…?”

“Maybe half past midnight? Sometimes around one.” The blunette answered. “Why?”

He looked out of the window. “This neighborhood isn’t the best, especially for a girl living alone.” Gray pointed to her building. “And you don’t even have a doorman: anyone could get in. And I spotted three people selling drugs on the past four streets we’ve passed.”

Juvia smiled softly. “Juvia can protect herself, Gray-sama. To grow up with Gajeel-kun and not learn how to fight back? Not possible. Plus, the bus stops just over there,” she pointed to a bus stop across the street just a few meters far from the front of her building “and Juvia just has to walk twenty meters to get home. And her lock is fine.”

“Either way, I don’t like it.” He scowled and seemed to think before he pointed to her phone. “May I?”

The blunette frowned, but gave her phone to him after she unlocked and watched as he typed something before offer it back to her. “I’ve put my number in there; anything happen and you need help, I can be here in ten minutes.” She looked at him in surprise. “I hope _nothing_ does happen, but if you need it, just call.”

Juvia took her phone and felt her eyes burn with unshed tears. In a whim, she put her arms around him in a messy hug. “Thank you.” She whispered, not expecting such kindness from him. “Thank you.” She said again, feeling him pat her on the back uncomfortably. They stayed that way for a moment before Juvia returned to her right mind and let go of him. “I’m sorry. People don’t usually are this kind to me. This whole month has been…”

Gray cleared his throat. “Well, get used to it. As I said, you are in our group now and everyone will be kind to you in their own way.”

“Thank you, either way.” She kissed his cheek, dried a tear that fell and smiled. “Good night, Gray-sama.”

“Good night, Juvia.” With a look his way, Juvia grabbed her bag and left the car.

Once she opened the door of her building, she looked over her shoulder and saw he was still there. She waved good-bye and he raised a hand in acknowledgement, she got in and closed the door.

While she was climbing the stairs, she couldn’t help but to smile widely; she couldn’t believe her night, she couldn’t believe the past few minutes. She couldn’t believe her _life._

She should’ve realized that moment what was happening with her stomach filled with butterflies, but didn’t, too happy reliving her memories.

**#**

A few days later, Juvia was about to skate her way out from the rink when she noticed Gray, not too far away, talking to one of the members of his team. The man offered Gray his hand and Gray took it before leaving. Frowning, Juvia skated in his direction and called his name. He turned to see her and raised a hand in greeting and stepped close to the rink.

“Hey.” She said once they were close enough. “Where’s your team?”

Gray sighed. “Apparently, the coach sent emails to everyone saying we wouldn’t have practice today and I didn’t read it, neither did John. So, ends up I came here for nothing.” He groaned.

Juvia made a clicking sound with her tongue and an idea struck her. “Well, since you are here already and Juvia only has classes in two hours, how about that hockey lesson you promised? At least you wouldn’t have come here for nothing.”

He thought about it for a moment and nodded. Juvia watched as he put his skates on and grabbed a disk and two sticks.

Barely containing her excitement when Gray joined her, she listened as he explained her about the basics of the game. Gray spent a while teaching her how to use the stick, how to move the disk and how to make goals. She had made three goals out of their ten tries when Gray skated towards the net.

“Alright, now I’ll stay here and I’ll try to prevent you to making goals.” He stood in position and Juvia took a shot and he used his stick to stop it and then threw it back at her. “Again.”

The third time she tried, Juvia made a goal, the net moving as soon as the disk hit it. “Juvia did it!” She squealed, raising her arms, stick still in her hand. “Oh! Did you see that?”

Gray was genuinely smiling. “I did. Good job.”

The blunette skated to stay next to him. “You didn’t let me have that goal because of pity, did you?”

“Of course not, I don’t do this crap.” He shrugged. “I’m just a _very_ good teacher.”

“Or _Juvia_ is excessively good in anything cold related.” She hit him on the shoulder playfully and he rolled his eyes. “Juvia is great with skating, apparently she is going to do fine with hockey, but wouldn’t be as good with soccer, for example. I tried when I was a child and ended up with knees scrapped.”

“I liked soccer, knees scrapping and all. And volleyball, biking, running, swimming, climbing trees; anything I could do outside.” Gray told her.

“You seem the type.” She smiled. “Juvia liked to stay inside more. It rained a lot during the summer and it snowed during the winter so it was a bit difficult to play outside.”

“Just activities ice related then, huh?” Gray asked. “I bet you’ll be studying whales or something up north in the cold once you become a marine biologist.”

She shrugged. “Not a bad idea. Now go back to the goal! Juvia wants to see if she’s good or just lucky!”

For the next half an hour they played and each time Juvia made a goal, she cheered and Gray would throw his head back in laughter, because it was as if she was making her first one all over again. To spice things up a bit, he told her he would try to steal the disk from her.

If she was true to herself, Juvia knew he was taking easy on her that time, but just didn’t care, deciding to enjoy skating away from him, trying to prevent him from taking the disk.

“No, no, no! Go away!” She squealed when saw him approaching from her left. “No!”

“Got it.” Gray said in triumph when he stole the disk.

“Not fair!” Juvia yelled from behind him, trying not to laugh. Deciding they were not playing for real either way, the blunette threw her stick on the ice, skated closer to him and put her arms around his waist. “Gotcha!”

He laughed and kept going into the direction of the goal and even with her behind him (giggling like crazy), he managed to make another point. “Ha!” He cheered. “You might be good, but you are just not in my level!”

Juvia let go of him and was still laughing when he turned around to see her. “Oh, god. That was fun.”  She took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the freezing ground, lying on it a moment later earning a strange look from Gray. “Come on down. We deserve to rest for a moment.”

Still looking as if she were crazy, Gray shrugged and did the same as she did: lied down on the ice, groaning softly and looking up to the ceiling. “Is it weird that running around in here with you made me more tired than playing a full game?”

Juvia laughed. “Well, when you are playing, Gray-sama, you have adrenalin in your body pushing it to the edge and you only feel tired the next day. Today, we were just having fun.”

“Having fun? You grabbed _me_. I felt very much assaulted.” Gray said in a mock tone and the blunette chuckled. “Against the rules too.”

“You didn’t complain then.” She shrugged and turned her head to look at him and he did the same. “It has been a while since Juvia had this much fun here in the rink.” She told him. “Usually is just practicing and then performing. She forgot how fun it can be. Thanks for that.”

He stayed in silent for a moment, looking at her thoughtfully. “I guess it was the same with me.” He frowned. “I like what I do, but I guess everything turned into… business. So, thank you as well.” Gray smiled and Juvia felt her heart race, like it had been doing a lot when he was around. Her stomach felt strange and suddenly she felt hot even though they were literally lying atop of ice.

What on earth was wrong with her to feel th-

Juvia’s heart almost stopped when realization hit her. She was _falling in love_ with him, hard and fast. Much faster than she thought possible. And for a while now if she had to guess. She tried to remember exactly _when_ it could’ve happen, but came up empty. She had been infatuated with him from the moment they spoke for the first time, sure, but it was a crush.

It _had_ to be a crush. She promised to _never_ fall in love again.

“Juvia?” He asked, frowning at her. “Are you alright?”

Snapping out of it, Juvia blinked a few times before smiling at him. “Yes. Sorry, Juvia drifted a little.”

“Where?” Gray snorted. “Your expression was of a person who forgot to bury a murder victim.”

“Just remembering Juvia has a paper due in two days and she has to finish it.” She lied easily.

“I was close with the expression, then.” He said and even under the circumstances she couldn’t help but to laugh. “Anything I can do to help? You helped me with my Disney test, maybe I can help you with yours? As you know I am a bit of an expert on Finding Nemo.” He raised an eyebrow and she giggled.

“It’s about currents and very boring, but thanks for asking.” Gray hummed in agreement and they stayed talking for a few minutes more when they heard a throat being cleared and both looked to their right, seeing the janitor.

“Sorry, kids, I have to clean the ice now.”

“Alright, we’ll be out in a minute. Thanks, Carl.” Gray said and got up, offering Juvia a hand, which she took. “This was fun.”

“It really was.” Juvia smiled and skated to where she had thrown her stick earlier and gave it to him. “We should do this again.”

“We should.” Gray nodded and they stared at each other for a few seconds and he was about to say something when Carl cleared his throat once again and Gray almost jumped away from her. Gray cleared his own throat and pointed to the exit of the rink. “Shall we?”

Slightly disappointed with the interruption Juvia smiled through it, nodded and followed Gray out. She needed to do something about her feelings, that wouldn’t do. She didn’t deserve another chance at loving someone.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. She could think of it later, Juvia would not spoil a perfect morning with an amazing guy with her dark thoughts. She’s rather enjoy them as much as she could.

**#**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, come on, Carl! They were having a moment!
> 
> I was having a bit of trouble with the beginning of the chapter, about Juvia’s performance even though I chose the song even before I wrote chapter 1, but I think things will go smoothier now. The idea of the next chapter is already formed and I wouldn’t mind if you told me what you’d want to see here. ;)
> 
> FYI, Cana is all of Gruvia’s fangirls united trying to get them together. HAHA


	3. Too Late

 

Phantom’s wasn’t exactly the place Gray and his friends went to, preferring to spend their time at Franky’s but it was closed for a couple of weeks for renovations, they needed to find somewhere to hang out and Phantom’s food was told to be quite good.

Gray let Cana slide on the booth and sat by her side while Lucy and Natsu sat opposed to them, the four of them chatting about a trip they wanted to take the next holiday when the waitress stopped next to their booth. Gray muttered a quick ‘good evening’, looked down to the table before he processed what he saw and looked back up to see Juvia standing there, a smile on her face.

“Juvia?” Gray blinked, surprised, while the girls exclaimed her name in delight.

“Hello.” The blunette said, kindly.

“I knew you were a waitress, but I didn’t know it was here at Phantom’s.” Cana said and Gray wanted to hit himself for never asking where she worked even though he knew it was in a diner.

“Juvia thought you guys liked to go to Franky’s.” She smiled to the brunette.

“We do, but it’s closed for a couple of weeks and people say the food here is very good.” Natsu informed her and Juvia hummed in agreement.

“It is.” She nodded. “And since you are at my section, Juvia is going to be your waitress.”

“Lucky us!” Lucy chuckled. “What do you recommend?”

“The hamburgers are very good.” She said.

“What’s the biggest one?” Natsu asked.

“That would be the _‘Phantom Lord’_ , three layers of burgers, lots of cheese, bacon and sauce.” Everyone laughed at the name, including her. “Hey, Juvia doesn’t come up with the names.” She said in her defense.

“Now that sounds like a proper monster hamburger. I’ll have one with fries.” Natsu said.

“Just a strawberry milkshake for me. I’ll steal Natsu’s fries.” Lucy winked at the blunette who smiled and nodded.

“Just a hamburger is fine and vanilla milkshake, please.” Cana asked.

Juvia wrote down and looked at Gray, expectantly and he realized he had been staring like some creep since the conversation started. He cleared his throat. “Uh, the same as Natsu.”

“Alright.” She gave them a smile and walked off to the counter to ask for their orders.

His three friends started to chat about the coincidence of running into Juvia, and Gray hummed in agreement, but his eyes kept following the blunette around the diner as she talked to clients and took orders. Gray noticed she looked really good wearing the light blue uniform, it showed her beautiful legs. It was a bit tight around her breasts and it brought attention to it, most males clients would glance at it a few times while she took orders. Her hair was up in a ponytail, the curls bouncing when she moved and it showed the fair skin of her neck.

Cana’s voice coming from his left took him out of his thoughts when she asked: “Admiring her, Gray?”

He looked at her and the couple across of him, all three looking at him with amusement written all over their expressions. “What? _No_.” He managed to say in a higher pitch than necessary.

“She does look pretty even with that hideous thing.” Lucy said. “Doesn’t she, Natsu?”

“Sure.” The pink haired man shrugged, not at all bothered it was his girlfriend asking it.

“And it is a miracle to look good with that thing.” Cana snorted. “A little bird told me you two have been talking between your practice and hers at the rink.”

“Who…?” Gray caught himself, but the damage was already made. “Fine. Yes, we talk for a few minutes before she leaves and my practice starts, but that’s it.”

“And?” Lucy pressed, very interested in the development. “Come on, Gray. Give us something.”

He groaned, looked at Natsu, silently asking for some male assistance, but he only raised is hands in surrender, obviously not wanting to go against his girlfriend. With no more ally, he just sighed in defeat. “She’s nice, okay? Funny.” He lowered his voice. “But it’s not… I am not… It’s complicated.”

“Hey.” Cana put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright to like her, Gray. To have a new friend who is a girl you don’t know for years.”

“And” Lucy added “if something else happens, is fine. If not, well, another friend is always a good thing.”

Natsu rolled his eyes and cut to the chase. “Look, man. I know Daphne hurt you but you can’t stop living because of it. Closing yourself up is not doing you any good and she” he pointed behind him and Gray saw Juvia a few tables away, writing down on her notepad “is the first girl I saw take you out of your shell.”

“Natsu…” Gray all but growled.

“Moving on is hard, but it feels good once it is done and you see the opportunities. That’s all I’m going to say about it.” Natsu rested his elbows on the table and the two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Gray looked away.

“I still can’t believe Natsu can be this deep.” Cana whispered, mockingly.

“Hey.” Lucy threw her napkin in the brunette’s direction. “Don’t talk about him this way. Only I can do that.” Cana laughed and threw it back at her.

Gray smirked at the light banter and unconsciously, his gaze returned to Juvia just in time to see her stop smiling to a few costumers, write down on her notepad and turn around in direction of the counter to ask for the orders. That was the moment Gray saw a hand connect to Juvia’s ass in a slap and there was a round of drunken laughter from the guys on the table.

He saw red.

Gray was getting up from the booth when he saw Juvia turn around, close her fist and land the most beautiful punch on the man’s face. He watched it all wide eyed as she grabbed the man’s shirt and said, close to his face, while the guy held a hand on his bleeding nose: “Don’t you ever touch me again.” Her words were almost a hiss but everyone in the diner heard her. She let go of him.

Gray felt pride swell inside his chest: Juvia didn’t need to be rescued _at all_. She could very well take care of herself.

“Bitch!” The guy whined and got up, like his other two friends, but Juvia didn’t move. Each of them probably had one hundred pounds on her easily, but she stood her ground. That was when Gray finally took two steps towards them, but it was unnecessary: a tall man with dark greasy hair and a weird looking mustache came from the back of the diner.

“You know no one touches my employees, Tony.” His voice was so cold, it sent shivers down Gray’s spine. “I made it very clear the diner is off limits.”

The man, Tony, finally seemed to realize exactly in how much trouble he was in. “I-I’m sorry, Jose. I forgot.”

“Leave.” Jose said with venom. Not a single movement from his part, and the three men were almost running outside. There was a moment of silence inside the diner before Jose smiled. “I’m sorry for the scene. It’s all under control now.”

There were whispers all over the diner, but Gray paid no attention to them. Instead, he watched Jose step closer to Juvia, put a hand on her shoulder and spoke a few words to her, quietly. She nodded, and walked close to the door that lead to the kitchen.

Gray sat back, stunned with what he had seen, and so were his friends.

“What the _fuck_?” Natsu whispered.

“What on earth’s name did we just see?” Lucy asked.

“You all saw her punch that guy, right?” Natsu was clearly surprised.

“I knew I liked her for a reason.” Cana seemed pleased with how things turned out. “That was a nice punch. I need to buy her a drink when we go out.”

“Is she alright?” Gray asked, trying to have a better look at the blunette, but she had her back to them. He didn’t wait for an answer from his friends, choosing to get up and walk in her direction. Once he was close enough, Gray spoke. “Juvia? Are you alright?”

She seemed startled and she took a moment to turn around, presumably drying the tears she was fighting by the time he finally saw her face.

“Yes. I’m fine.” She dried another tear. “Sorry about that.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He frowned.

Juvia looked up to him. “Waitresses shouldn’t go around hitting clients.”

“Well, clients shouldn’t put their hands on waitresses.” Gray pointed out.

“That is true.” She snorted. “God, I need to go back in there and everyone will know I’ve been crying over some drunk jerk. They will think I’m pathetic.”

“I don’t know about that: I think they will be more focused on how you handed him his ass and didn’t back off when he and his buddies got up from their spots.” Gray strategically put himself between her and the rest of the diner, allowing her to dry her tears and fix herself.

“It was a good punch, wasn’t it?” She chuckled, seemingly more in control of herself.

“Oh, yes.” He smiled. “You are small, but vicious. That sure as hell hurt. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“Deal.” Juvia told him. “Thank you for check on me.”

“Sure.” Gray shrugged. “Are you going to be alright?”

“Always do.” She smiled. “Juvia will bring your food in a bit.”

“No hurry.” He turned around and returned to the booth with his friends.

**#**

Gray was alone in the booth playing with his phone, his friends left an hour before and he was just passing time. When Juvia came with their food, the girls praised her for the quick thinking to punch the guy and Natsu raised a fist and Juvia bumped it with her own, telling her she had a nice right hook.

She came by a few times to ask if they needed anything else and before the other three left, they found her to say good-bye and Gray decided to stay.

“Gray-sama?” Juvia stopped close to him after their friends left. “You are not going with them?”

“Nah.” He shrugged. “When is your shift over?”

The blunette frowned, but looked at the clock above the door. “Uh… in an hour or so. Why?”

“I’ll give you a ride.” Gray told her.

“That is not necessary.” Juvia shook her head.

“I just want to make sure those guys are not coming back.” He said.

“Juvia can handle herself.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I know. I saw it.” Gray smirked, remembering the punch. “It’s more about me: I would feel better if I knew you got home without a problem.” The words seemed to soften her. “Could you bear with me?”

He saw her cheeks get pinker and his heart started to beat faster with how adorable she got when she tried to hide it by looking away. “Yes.” She looked his direction and walked away when a couple called for her.

Juvia refilled his soda a few times and while he waited, Gray used his phone to pass the time when an hour later she stood next to him, with her coat already on and her purse.

“Gray-sama?”

“All done?” He got up and she nodded. “Good, come on.” Gray lead the way, a hand on the small of her back. Once they were outside, he pointed where his car was and they walked over in silence.

They got inside, he started the car and they drove in silent for a few minutes before he broke the silence. “So, where did you learn to punch like that?”

“Juvia’s friend, Gajeel-kun, taught her.” She told him with a chuckle.

“Ah, the mysterious friend.” Gray smirked. “You should bring him to meet the others sometime, he seems to be a big part of your life.”

“We had to be tough growing up in the system.” Juvia said. “He looked out for me and Juvia did the same.”

Gray hummed in agreement. “Does that happen a lot?” When Juvia looked at him in question, he clarified. “That… _situation_ with that asshole.”

Juvia sighed. “Once every two weeks or so a client gets a bit handsy with the waitresses. Most have no idea whose diner it is.” It was Gray’s turn to be confused. “You saw him tonight. Jose?”

Gray nodded. “Kind of scary guy.”

“The diner is his legitimate business, he doesn’t like when there is too much attention there.” She informed him. “Jose actually has some clubs and according to some people on the staff, the police keeps an eye on him.”

“The police?” Gray was clearly surprised.

“Yes.” Juvia shrugged.

“And you work for that guy?”

She shrugged. “There aren’t too many half time jobs that pay enough to live with. Besides, the tips are good.”

Gray stayed in silent for a few moments. “Is he dangerous?”

Juvia hesitated to answer. “He is, but not at the diner. He makes sure no one bothers us; like tonight with him telling those men to leave.” She said. “He is gross sometimes, check the girls out, but he never did anything to any of us.”

He thought about it for a few seconds. “Just… be careful, alright? Especially with who you punch.”

“Sure.” She smiled.

“You know, anyone who sees you all dress up and skating would never guess you can kick ass.” He pointed out.

“Always good to have the element of surprise.”

Gray chuckled. “True. It serves them right.”

Juvia looked outside of the window and then back to him. “How’s the competition going?”

“Great.” He was pleased to inform. “We are at second place right now, and in four weeks we have the finals.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. That’s why you will probably see us practice like crazy.” Gray told her. “Me more than the others.”

“Why is that?” Juvia asked.

“The team we are against? My brother’s the captain. He’s graduating and this is his last competition.” He glanced her way. “And there’s no way I’m letting him win.”

“Not even as a last hurray?” She smirked.

“If his team is good enough, they will win but not because I went soft just because he is my brother.” Gray shrugged. “Besides, he’d kill me if he knew I threw the game his way.”

“You two are very competitive, Juvia takes.”

“You have no idea.” Gray chuckled. “My dad taught him hockey after our parents got married and we made it a competition every step of the way.”

“Who is better?” She teased.

“I have to admit we are almost even.” He granted. “But I am better.” Gray finished, smugly.

“When’s the game? Juvia will have to watch this.” The blunette smiled.

“Two Fridays from now.”

“Juvia will request the day off.” She informed him. “I quite liked the last game.”

“Good.” He said and they chit chatted for a while about trivial things until he stopped in front of her building. “Here we are.”

She unbuckled the seatbelt. “Thank you. And sorry you had to go through all the trouble to bring me home.”

“I wanted to.” Gray shrugged. “Couldn’t let you go home on your own after the night you had.”

“That was very kind of you.”

“Anytime.”

Juvia opened the door, but before she stepped out, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Good night.” She whispered.

“Yeah.” Gray cleared his throat. “Good night.”

He watched as she walked towards the building and when she looked over her shoulder and waved, he did the same, waiting until she was inside and the door closed before he had the heels of his hands on his eyes.

“Come on, Gray! What the fuck am I doing with her?” He whispered.

**#**

For the next week, Gray and his friends went to Phantom’s almost every day and they guaranteed to seat in Juvia’s session of the diner so she could stay a bit and talk with them for a while. Gray didn’t take her home after she assured him she hadn’t punched anyone in days. He smirked at that and stopped asking, knowing she could take care of herself.

The following Friday, he met her at a party, much like the one he saw her for the first time. But that time she was not wearing some unflattering dress; instead she had some tight jeans and a dark blue tank top that showed her figure quite nicely even when she had a jacket on. Her hair was loose and she was talking to some tall man he never saw before – he had long black hair, piercings on his nose, eyebrows and ears. Downright scary.

Gray watched them and saw Juvia laugh at something he said, while he rolled his eyes and pointed towards the table with the bottles and she shook her head, raising her cup a bit. The tall man shrugged and walked away, leaving her alone.

A moment later, she looked around and spotted him, grinning at the sight of him and his traitor stomach started to flutter with it, but he nodded in her direction, which she took as cue to walk over to stay in front of him.

“Hi.” She greeted.

“Hey.” He answered. “Have you been here for long?”

“An hour, give or take.” Juvia answered.

Gray hummed in agreement. “Who was that you were with? I never saw him around.”

“Oh, that was Gajeel-kun.” The blunette told him and Gray recognized the name, it was Juvia’s childhood friend, the one she said he wouldn’t believe helped her pick up her clothes for her competitions. Well, she was right. He fit better with people who was part of a punk rock band rather than with a small blue haired girl choosing clothes.

“Your friend.” Juvia nodded. “Now I can see why you told me he didn’t look the type.” He smirked when she giggled.

“Told you so.” She looked to where said man was getting a drink. “He looks scary, but he has a soft side. Just last week he adopted a stray cat.” Her gaze returned to Gray. “Named it Lily.”

Gray snorted. “We can’t trust looks anymore: punky over there is a softie; you look harmless but have a great right hook. The world is coming to an end.” He laughed when she slapped his upper arm lightly, but couldn’t hide a smile. “Do you want to get a refill on that?” He pointed to her cup, that was almost empty.

“Oh no.” Juvia shook her head lightly. “Juvia’s more than fine with just one cup. Trust me, you do not want to see me drunk.”

“And why is that?” He asked, amused.

She wrinkled her nose. “Juvia is a sad drunk. Trust me, three more of these and she’ll be sobbing on the floor a second later.” Gray chuckled. “What about you? What kind of drunk are you?”

He snorted. “Oh, I am too much of a happy drunk. I become the most ridiculous version of myself: no boundaries at all. Last time I got wasted, I woke up naked on the roof of my building. Apparently I get hot and take all my clothes.” Juvia covered her mouth to hide a giggle. “Yeah, laugh away.”

“Sorry.” She tried to stop the giggles. “You must’ve been so confused the first time it happened.”

Gray couldn’t help but to laugh as well. “It sure was an experience.”

“Does it happen often?”

“Nah.” He shrugged. “I don’t like to lose control. Being a bit tipsy is fine enough to have a good time, and some occasions I don’t even want that or to be around people who get too drunk. But other times… I won’t lie, I want to get hammered.”

Juvia hummed in agreement. “Since Juvia gets sad when she drinks, she has other ways to cope with things.” He looked at her with curiosity and she elaborated. “Juvia bakes when she’s stressed. A lot.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “Yes. Cakes, pies, muffins, brownies. You name it. And they are quite good as well. Juvia sells them to the diner to have some extra money.”

“Next time I go there I’ll sure order it.”

“No need.” Juvia told him. “Are you practicing tomorrow?” Gray nodded in agreement. “Juvia baked some cupcakes this afternoon, she’ll take one for you tomorrow. How about that?”

“Great.” Gray told her. “At least you deal with stress better than I do.” She frowned. “I smoke when I get stressed.” She wrinkled her nose and he chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But I have to be really stressed out. I stopped a long time ago.”

“What made you stop?”

He sighed. “When I was in High School, all the cool kids were smoking and I tried it; liked it, really. Until my father found out, that is. He and my mom sat with me and we spent an hour looking at pictures of smoker’s lungs and reading all the downs of the habit. That was the moment I decided not to smoke anymore.”

“Now it’s only when you are stressed.”

“Yeah.” He agreed. “But my mother can never know about that. She promised to kick my ass if she ever caught me smoking again. And she will do it. I know her.” Gray shuddered, thinking about his adoptive mother and how many times he had his ass handed to him.

Juvia chuckled. “She seems like a great woman.”

“The best.” Gray agreed. He was about to say something else when someone pushed him and he collided with Juvia. Gray turned around to yell at the guy who shoved him, but he was so drunk his buddies were trying to pick him up from the floor. It would’ve been in vain, so he just waved the apologies from one of the guys, off. When he looked back to Juvia, she was covered in beer from the neck down; he realized when he collided with her, his beer poured on her. “Oh, damn it. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She told him, but Gray grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bathroom. “Gray-sama.”

Gray opened the door and pushed her inside. “That’s why I don’t like to get drunk and people getting drunk around me.” He closed the door and grabbed the towel hanging there and started to dry her neck and down. “I’m sorry. That guy-”

“Gray-sama.”

“-pushed me, I-”

“Gray-sama.”

“-I lost my balance-”

“ _Gray-sama_.”

“-and just bumped into you.” Realizing she was talking to him, he looked up and saw she was quite red on the face. Gray frowned at the reaction until he noticed exactly where the towel was: right on her cleavage. The one he had been glancing at the entire night. His eyes widened and he threw the towel on the sink, but the bathroom was small and he couldn’t get away from her. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t-”

“It’s alright.”

“-mean to- I didn’t even realize...”

“Gray-sama.” She put a hand on his forearm to calm him down but the moment she touched him, it seemed as if his whole body lit up with just that. Her blue eyes met his for a few moments and then clearly shifted to his lips. His breath got caught in his throat and he was sure his face was as red as hers, his heart was beating so fast, like he was about to score during a game.

Did _she_ want him to kiss her? Well, he knew that she was _more_ than capable to break his nose if she was uncomfortable. He witnessed her skills.

Did _he_ want to kiss her? It surprised him how much, but hell-fuck-yes, he wanted to kiss her.

 _Should_ he kiss her?

Before he decided what to do, the bathroom door opened and a young woman gasped when she saw them there. “Oh, sorry. I’ll wait outside.”

Gray cleared his throat and looked everywhere but the blunette in front of him. “I was just leaving.” He muttered and all but pushed the girl on the doorway and he didn’t stop even when Juvia called his name. He didn’t stop until he was outside, leaning on his car and breathing fresh air.

 _‘What is happening?’_ He thought.

He didn’t want _her_. He didn’t want _anyone_. All Gray wanted was to _not feel_ a thing.

 _‘Too late.’_ A tiny voice on the back of his mind whispered and an image of Juvia laughing when he was teaching her hockey came to mind and he groaned in annoyance.

“Oh, shit.” Gray whispered to himself. He was _so_ screwed.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, denial. Gray just loves to deny his feelings, doesn’t he?
> 
> The thing about Gray smoking is canon, if anyone doesn’t remember. In his first appearance he appears smoking but since we haven’t seen it ever since, I assume he quite. Thankfully.
> 
>   


	4. First Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we go onto the fourth chapter! I hope you enjoy it! ;)

 

The day after the party, Juvia couldn’t stop thinking about what happened in the bathroom, how much she wanted Gray to kiss her and how he seemed to want to do that as well, but by some reason didn’t act on it.

But it was fine, she couldn’t have anything with him. Not after Bora, it would be a mistake.

Then why couldn’t she stop think about him? The way he smiled, how passionate he was when he was talking about hockey or architecture, how sweet he was when she had hit that man at the diner. He had sent all the signals that he was interested in her, but when it was time to make a move, he ran away.

Knowing she needed to understand why he acted that way (out of pure curiosity, of course), Juvia met up with Cana and Lucy after they spent a couple of hours at the mall, they were going towards the bus stop, the blunette couldn’t help but to bring up the subject.

“So…” Juvia cleared her throat when the subject about tests was finished. “Juvia was wondering something.”

“Oh?” Cana was sending a text on her phone and Lucy looked at her, waiting for the question.

The blunette hesitated for a second before speaking. “Yesterday night, at the party, something _almost_ happened and Juvia just wants to know why it didn’t.”

Cana’s attention immediately changed from her phone to Juvia and Lucy gasped, knowing it was something juicy. “What happened?”

“At the party, when Juvia was talking with Gray-sama” Juvia ignored Lucy’s excited squeal “someone bumped into him and he spilled his beer on me.” Cana snorted. “He dragged Juvia to the bathroom to help her clean up.” She bit her lower lip for a moment. “When we were there… Juvia doesn’t think he realized what he was doing, but he cleaned up this… area.” She moved her hands over her chest.

Cana laughed. “I didn’t think he had it in him. Very forward of him.”

Juvia could feel her cheeks get hotter. “Once he did realize what he was doing, we… looked at each other and for a moment there, Juvia could swear he would kiss her, all the signs were there, but someone opened the door and he didn’t. He just ran away and didn’t even look back when Juvia called his name.” The blunette finished, frustrated.

Lucy and Cana looked at each other for a moment and the blonde was the first to speak. “Well, Juvia. Gray has always been closed up and it takes a while for him to open up, always did.”

“The thing is, now he’s even worse because his ex-girlfriend, Daphne… she broke his trust and he really liked her. They were together for eight, nine months?” Cana asked and Lucy nodded in agreement. “But then, she cheated on him with a former member of his team.” Juvia’s eyebrows rose up. “Yeah. The guy had graduated a semester before and apparently they had been meeting behind Gray’s back for four months before Gray caught them at her apartment.”

Lucy sighed. “She gave him a key but Gray doesn’t like to drop by unannounced anywhere, he always calls or texts to make sure it is okay. That day, though, he forgot his backpack at her place and she was supposed to be working, so he thought it would be okay to just stop by quick to get it.”

“And he found her in bed with the guy.” Cana looked pissed off. “She said she was meaning to break up with him for a while but didn’t have the courage to do it, so, of course her answer was to lie and cheat on him for months. That bitch.”

“It’s been six months and I haven’t seen him dating anyone since.” Lucy shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t think he even looked at another woman in that time. But he looks at _you_.”

“What?” Juvia felt her heart beat faster.

“I don’t know what you did, but ever since you two met, he’s been less cranky.” Cana told her. “I don’t know what can come up from this, but you make him look alive when you are around. I saw you two talking, he likes you.” The brunette stared at Juvia. “And you like him, am I right?”

Juvia thought about lying to them, to deny she had any type of feelings towards Gray that wasn’t friendship, to say she never saw him that way.

It would be of no help, though, so she chose to stop lying to herself. “Yes.” She muttered.

Lucy got really excited and twined her arms with Juvia’s. “Good. We think you two would be a great couple.”

“We do,” Cana agreed “but first you have to convince Gray about it. If he’s freaking out about almost kissing you, imagine dealing with the fact that he likes you?” She asked and Juvia gulped. “You need to know that if you really want this, you’ll probably have to drag him kicking, screaming and fight all the way because he is a stubborn son of a bitch and you’ll need to be a very strong person.”

Juvia nodded in understanding. She’d need to think about it real carefully before she made any sort of decision about what to do.

**#**

“You need to go to the supermarket.” Juvia stated after opening the banged up fridge and only found half an orange, bread and half of a carton of milk that she suspected it was already going bad. “What do you eat?” She asked her friend, who didn’t mind her at all and just walked around naked with only a towel around his hips.

“I eat takeout food, Juvia. You know that.” He shrugged and the blunette just rolled her eyes when he grinned at her.

Gajeel Redfox was two years older than her and took care of her in their foster home until the day he turned eighteen. After that, he stayed around until it was time for her to leave as well. They promised each other a long time ago to stick together and he wasn’t about to break that promise. And neither was Juvia, not when he was the only family she had.

“Juvia will make some food for you.” She told him. “I’ll make extras too and leave it in your freezer, that way you only need to heat it up, okay?”

He snorted. “You know I can take care of myself, right?”

Juvia grabbed one of his arms and pointed to some of the scars there. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

Gajeel rolled his red eyes. “You can’t throw them in my face anymore, Juvia. It’s been fifteen years.”

The blunette just shook her head lightly and took in his body; he had so many scars, it always pained her to look at. Juvia had been a good girl when she was in foster care, whenever she did something worthy of punishment, her various foster parents usually gave her time-outs and one spanked her a few times, but nothing to traumatize her.

He, on the other hand, had it pretty hard until he was thirteen. His back had so many scars from when he lived with a couple of fanatics who believed the best punishment was whipping. And Gajeel had been a very troubled boy. Juvia knew usually boys were active and wanted to get into all sorts of adventures and Gajeel was no different.

Instead of having someone to point out the things he could do without getting trouble, he received whippings on his back, which made him angrier and angrier until Social Services took action and took him out.

It took Juvia months after he arrived at the foster home to make him talk to her instead of grunting. For a long time she was the only one he spoke to.

Juvia watched as he went to his bedroom to put on some clothes and she went to sit on the couch, a second later Gajeel’s black cat jumped next to her and she picked him up, putting him on her lap. Lily followed Gajeel home three months before after said man gave him a piece of the sandwich he was eating and just made himself at home.

“You are such a lucky cat.” Juvia whispered to the black cat; Lily wasn’t by any standards the most beautiful cat, especially with the scars on his face and torso, plus a piece of his tail was cut off; but he was sure as hell very caring and always liked to be petted. “Just like Gajeel-kun.” Juvia whispered and giggled when Lily licked her nose. “You two are very alike, all roughed up outside but big softies on the inside. Maybe that’s why you match so well.”

“Have you lost your mind completely and started to talk alone?” Gajeel said from behind her and she looked over the couch to see him take a turn and throwing his massive body next to her. “I knew it was a matter of time.”

“Shut up.” Juvia told him and he snorted. “How is work?”

“Same old, same old.” He shrugged. “How is college?”

“Same thing as always.” She told him. “Classes, tests, papers. The whole shebang.” Gajeel hummed in agreement. Juvia hesitated before continue to speak. “Gajeel-kun, have you thought about what we talked about? The night classes? Juvia will help you to-”

“Juvia.” Gajeel glared at her and his tone was hard. “I told you no. I am doing fine with no school.”

The blunette sighed in defeat. Gajeel had dropped off school and his reading skills were very poor, he got frustrated whenever he tried to read for too long and just gave up. Cellphone texts were fine, even though it took him a little while to read and write them. Juvia was almost certain he was dyslexic but no one other than her ever troubled themselves to understand why a smart child such as Gajeel did so badly at school.

Because Gajeel was smart, alright. He was witty, sarcastic and could remember things he just saw a few times to the t. If he had turned his anger into studying, Juvia had no doubt he would be the one with the scholarship. And, of course, he was quite skilled with metalworking and, surprisingly, he liked to grow plants. Flowers, vegetables, herbs. All of it.

Up in the terrace of his building, he had all types of plants growing. No one bothered to go up there other than him, so he used the space to grow them. All he had learned about taking care of plants, he learned from a time he had broken his leg and couldn’t walk around, so Juvia made him company a few months after he arrived at the foster home. Juvia didn’t want the scary boy to be all alone in his room, in silence, so she borrowed a gardening book and started to read to him.

He would’ve been one hell of a botanic if he had had the proper education. Or if he just let her help him with his condition. His pride always got in his way, though.

“Fine.” She sighed. “You know that whenever you want to-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He cut her off. “Just shut up about it.” They stayed in silence for a few minutes, the only sound coming from Lily and his content purrs as Juvia petted him thoroughly. “Did you ever find out why that guy you said you like didn’t make a move on you?”

Juvia knew he wasn’t really that interested in talking about her love life, but he hated awkward silences and would even want her to babble non-stop to avoid it.

“Yes.” She sighed. “Apparently he has always been closed up and a few months ago his girlfriend cheated on him and now he has even more trust issues.”

Gajeel snorted. “Yeah, that would do for any guy to avoid women for a while. Specially if he had problems before.”

“What do you think Juvia should do?”

He thought about it for a moment. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” She confessed. “After what Bora did, Juvia never thought she’d ever see a man that way before. I just threw myself in studying, skating and working; I just knew that it would take all my time and I wouldn’t think about it.” Juvia stopped for a moment. “But since Juvia met Gray-sama… I don’t know, I can’t stop thinking about him. We really hit it off from day one.”

“Do you think you had a chance?” Gajeel asked.

Juvia thought for a few seconds and remembered the times he caught him staring at her and then looking away when she caught him, how his eyes flicked to her lips when they were alone in that bathroom.

She did have a chance.

“Maybe.” She admitted.

Gajeel looked at her, thoughtfully. “Make the move, then.”

“What?” Juvia was confused.

“You want him, he probably wants you but is a wuss to admit it. So, go after him.” He shrugged. “You are the most obstinate woman I know. If you want something, you go after it. By what you told me, he doesn’t seem like a prick and not all men are like Bora. If you get a no, fine, you’ll get over it because you’ll know you tried. If he says yes, you’ll see where it goes. It’s that simple.”

Juvia kept staring at her best friend, blinking and trying to think about what she was going to say next. What if she tried and got humiliated when he turned her down? What if everything went bad if something did happen?

“What if-?” She tried to ask, but Gajeel cut her off.

“Asking yourself a gazillion questions starting with ‘what if’ is not going to help you.” Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest. “The question is about what you want and you want him. You can’t possibly know what is going to happen until you try.”

“That is… pretty good advice.” Juvia was surprised.

“I wish you heard me before you dated that scumbag Bora, but I’m glad to be heard now.” Gajeel said, sarcastically and Juvia rolled her eyes. “Just stop bitching about _if_ you should get him and go _do_ something about it, for god’s sake.”

Juvia blinked a few times before answering. “You know, for years Juvia wished she had female friends to talk about boys with. But you are the best girlfriend a woman needs.”

Gajeel groaned. “Shut up, jeez.” He said, grumpily. “You know what, I don’t want to know anything about this anymore. I try to help out and you insult me to my face.” Juvia got a fit of giggles. “Stop laughing!” His face got redder and redder by the second. “Juvia, I’m serious! I’ll throw you out on the street.” Juvia raised her hands in surrender, but kept laughing.

He _was_ the best friend she needed.

**#**

Juvia was hiding behind a tree, gathering courage to finally go confront Gray. She had decided that she if she got a chance with having something with him, she was going to take it and if he wasn’t going to make a move, she would.

Since what happened in the party he had been avoiding her. He hadn’t appeared at the diner and he made a point to arrive just in time for his practice and went straight to the rink, saying he was already late and couldn’t talk.

What he didn’t count on was the fact that Juvia Lockser did not give up easily.

She saw him come out from a building with Natsu and a guy she recognize as Loki, talking to them. Knowing she’d have little opportunity to get him alone, she took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the tree, going in a straight line in the trio’s direction.

Natsu was the first one to see her. The pink haired man smiled her way. “Hey, Juvia. What are yo-”

“Can’t talk now.” She didn’t even stopped walking, just grabbed Gray’s hand and pulled him to go with her. She saw confusion spread across his face when he recognized her, but let her lead him away from his friends. Once they were far enough to not be overheard, Juvia let go of his hand, turned around to stare at him and put her hands on her hips. “You’ve been avoiding me because of what almost happened in the party.”

Gray’s surprised melted away when he sighed. “Juv-”

“Juvia doesn’t want apologies or excuses.” She cut him off. “She knows why you are acting this way.” He raised an eyebrow. “Juvia talked with Cana-san and Lucy-san about what happened and they explained to me what happened.” Gray’s expression turned dark. “Don’t get mad at them, I asked.” She said, not wanting to put her friends in trouble. “Juvia understands what you went through, trust me.” She told him softly and she could see him frowning, trying to make sense of her words. “Juvia’s ex… he did the same thing with her and worse.”

“What-?” Gray tried to ask, but she shook her head.

“Not a story for now.” Juvia said. “All I want for you to know is that I understand how you feel. You opened up to someone and that someone throw it away like garbage instead of treating it like a gift. It sucks, it hurts but we move on.” She cleared her throat. “Juvia haven’t gone out with anyone ever since she broke up with her boyfriend because no one seemed interesting enough to get my attention. And I was hurt. I still _am_ and it won’t change today or tomorrow, but it will change _someday._ ” She looked into his eyes. “You were the first person to make my heart beat faster in almost a year and even though I buried so deep inside me I forgot how it felt, the moment I felt it again, I realized how much missed this feeling.

“Looking at you Juvia can tell that there’s something between me and you. I am not sure what is, if it’s going to go somewhere, if all we’ll ever be is friends or whatever, but we owe to ourselves to try. If we let bad memories run our lives, we won’t live and we’ll regret it.” She took a deep breath. “Maybe we’ll just help each other heal a bit, but for that we need to take the first step.”

Gray kept looking at her with wide eyes and she was afraid she stepped over some line, but she was in a roll; she was _not_ going to wake up ten years in the future regretting not doing a thing.

“And if you won’t take it, Juvia will.” She raised her chin in fake confidence, she was so afraid it hurt her but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “If you don’t feel anything for me, _at all_ , well, Juvia gave her first step and tried. But if you do, we are going out tomorrow night and see where this goes, one way or another.”

The next thirty seconds were the longest of Juvia’s life. Gray studied her carefully, thinking about what he was going to say and she already knew he was going to reject her. She just knew. Maybe Gajeel wouldn’t mind if she stayed with him for a few days, alternating between crying and baking non-stop until she realizes she can stay friends with Gray even so.

“Okay.” It was his answer.

Juvia frowned in confusion. “What?”

“Okay.” He repeated, slowly. “We’ll see where tomorrow gets us.”

The blunette tilted her head to the side, trying to understand his words. “We will?”

“Yeah.” Gray shrugged. “It’s tiresome to fight it, so I’ll just go with the flow.”

“ _Oh_.” Juvia blinked three times. “That’s… uh. That’s good.”

Gray raised an eyebrow. “You don’t sound so sure.”

“I didn’t think you would actually say yes.” She whispered the confession and could feel her cheeks get hot.

“I see.” He smirked and Juvia’s heart beat even faster, and her cheeks became even hotter. “So, did you plan something or not, since you didn’t expect me to accept.” She just knew he wasn’t going to let her live that one down.

“I did.” She squeaked the answer and he nodded.

“What time do I pick you up?”

“Uh…” She couldn’t believe that was actually happening, but answered nonetheless just a bit louder than a whisper. “Is… uh… seven okay?”

“Sure.” He agreed. “See you tomorrow at seven, then.”

“Yes.” Juvia muttered and her heart skipped a beat when she saw a small smirk on Gray’s lips that lasted just a few seconds before he turned around and went back to where his friends were waiting for him, curious.

She watched as he said a few words to them and they started to walk away. They gave a few steps, then Natsu turned around, looked her way and raised both hands with his thumbs up and she smiled weakly his way.

Juvia was shaking, her whole body. All she could think was how unbelievable that moment was. She was ready to be shot down, to hold her tears until she was alone.

Instead, she had a date.

“What am I going to wear?” She whispered to herself.

**#**

It was 7:01 p.m. and Juvia had convinced herself Gray was going to stood her. She had been walking around her apartment for twenty minutes already, thinking what she would do if he didn’t appear and her fears became real. She got stood up by Gray.

It was fine, it was cool. She wasn’t the first girl to be stood up and wouldn’t be the last.

Her cellphone buzzed from inside her purse and she frowned, grabbing the device from inside. Her heart almost stopped when she read the text she got.

**From: Gray-sama**

_19:02: I’m here._

She stared at the text for a few seconds before running towards the bedroom to have another look at herself in the mirror. She looked at herself and wondered if he would like what she chose: a tight white tank top that purposely draw attention to her chest, a dark-blue coat, jeans pants and brown boots. Her hair was loose and she chose light make-up and a light pink lipstick.

Not wanting to let him wait too long, she grabbed her purse and left, her heart beating so fast she wondered if he would listen to it when she got inside the car.

When she arrived at the door of her building, she took a deep breath to calm herself, she couldn’t let him see how much of a wreck she was with the date.

Once she gathered herself, she opened the door and spotted his car and there Gray was, leaning on it by the passenger’s seat looking her way, wearing dark jeans and shirt and a white coat, his hands on its pockets, waiting for her, his hair moving with the wind and Juvia almost became a puddle right there. He looked so handsome it hurt her.

She walked his way and Gray offered her a small smile. “Hi.” He said once she stood in front of him.

“Hi.” Juvia had just walked a few meters but she was breathless, her stomach filled with butterflies.

They just stared at each other’s eyes for a few moments before Gray cleared his throat. “So, where are we going?” Juvia blinked a few times, processing his words.

“Uh… Well, since Juvia knows you are a fan of Hockey, she thought you’d enjoy going to a pro game.” It was Gray’s turn to blink, speechless. “I hope you are okay with watching the Harpies vs the Wolverines.” She bit her lower lip, waiting for his reaction.

“You got tickets for the Harpies.” He stated, clearly not believing her. “They ran out weeks ago!”

“Well, one of the dancers from Jose’s clubs got them as payment instead of money from a client and when she and her friends came to the diner to get something to eat, Juvia overheard she wanted to get rid of them so… Juvia got them. She knows Juvia, so she sold them for a real good price.” She told him and shrugged.

“Are you saying we are going to watch the Harpies?” Gray was clearly excited, even if he was trying to hide it.

“Juvia takes you are a fan.” She smiled, amused.

“My second favorite team.” He all but beamed and she giggled at his excitement. “They will _crush_ the Wolverines tonight and I can’t believe it I’ll get to see it in person.”

“Glad Juvia could help.” She told him. “Now, shall we…?”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Gray nodded and opened the door of the car for her and she raised an eyebrow. “What? My mother raised a gentleman and sometimes I do remember how to act like one, especially on dates.” He rolled his eyes and waited until she was inside to close the door.

While he walked to the driver’s side, Juvia had to contain herself when he mentioned their date. Just when she thought she was going through the night without squealing like a little girl, he did something amazing to throw her off.

And she was loving it.

**#**

Just like Gray had predicted, the Harpies had won against the Wolverines and the match had been exhilarating in Juvia’s opinion, mostly because Gray didn’t mind her questions about the rules and was quick to teach her. Their seats had been very well located and the whole time she could’ve feel his excitement coming from him in waves.

Gray had bought them hot-dogs and soda, scowling to her when she tried to get her wallet to pay for hers; he had told her she had paid for the tickets, the least he could do was to pay their food.

By the time they left, Gray was babbling excitedly about some ideas he had to implement on his own team thanks to the game. He asked if she wanted to go get some ice-cream and she would’ve been a fool if she didn’t accept.

In all honesty, Juvia didn’t know the place they went, but it sure as hell was the best ice-cream she’s ever had. Gray asked what she wanted and she wanted some Neapolitan ice-cream. Gray ordered a big portion and they shared while she listened to his stories about when he was little.

He told her that when he was five, he wanted to be an astronaut and he even had his dad helped him build a spaceship with boxes. He told everyone he would be the first boy to step on mars. Juvia giggled at how adorable that sounded and she imagined a little Gray playing around in his made-up spaceship.

When he told her if she always wanted to be a marine biologist, Juvia nodded, then told him that for a brief period of time she was convinced she could grow up to be a mermaid, but since it didn’t happen, she searched for the next thing and he laughed, the sound making Juvia’s heart to skip a beat.

The ride back to her apartment was filled with Gray’s takes on the moves from the match, saying who played well and who didn’t and Juvia listened to it, loving the way his eyes lit up with each word.

By the time they arrived in front of her apartment, Gray got out of the car and so did Juvia and Gray glared at her for not waiting.

“You know, my mother would be disappointed in me for not opening the door.” Gray told her and Juvia chuckled.

“Blame it on Juvia.” She told him and closed the car’s door.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.” Gray said, his hands on his pockets and he waited until Juvia started to walk to do the same by her side. They reached the door and turned to each other, Juvia could feel her hands start to sweat. He looked at her and said: “I had a great time tonight.”

“Juvia did too.” She admitted, nervous. “Now she knows so much about Hockey she is almost an expert.” The blunette joked and Gray snorted.

“Sorry about that, but it was a risk you took by taking me to a match.” He smiled.

“I was not complaining, it was nice to see you enjoying yourself. And it was fun for Juvia too, except for all the hitting and falling the players had.” She wrinkled her face and Gray chuckled.

“Yeah, well… it’s one of the risks.” He shrugged. “I try to not get hit too hard or to hit someone else, but hey… it’s part of the game.”

“I know. But be careful.” She looked at him pointedly and he nodded.

Juvia stared at him, taking in his unguarded expression, the scar above his left eyebrow, thick eyelashes, the beautiful nose she was sure was broken a few times, and finally his lips, that looked so inviting. Should she do something or would it be too forward of her?

Noticing she was staring for too long, Gray frowned. “What is it?”

She blinked a few times, trying to decide what to tell him and just told him the truth. “Juvia was wondering if it would be alright if she kissed you, or too forward.”

It was Gray’s time to be surprised and she was pleased to see color rush to his cheeks, his gaze went to her lips and back to her eyes. “Well…” He cleared his throat. “I heard that in some situations if a date goes well, kissing the other person would make him know if he should or not ask her out again. Just saying.”

“Is that so?” Juvia smiled.

Gray nodded. “I did hear that.”

Juvia took a step close to him, and whispered. “Just for the record, it was Juvia who asked you out.”

“By that logic should I be the one to kiss you or not?” He asked, his voice just as low as hers had been.

“Only if you wa-” Juvia couldn’t finish the sentence because a second later his lips were on hers.

It took Juvia a nanosecond to register what was going on. She closed her eyes and put her arms around his shoulders for support and Gray’s hands found its way to her hips as he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer to his body.

He pulled away for a moment, breathing hard and Juvia saw him studying her face for a moment before kissing her again, that time deepening it by coaxing her mouth open. It felt as if a lightening bolt passed through Juvia’s body; every cell in her body was awake, everywhere Gray touched her, it burned. It started out sweet and soon Juvia could feel her blood start to boil in anticipation.

It was everything she thought it would be and more.

She had no idea how long they stood in front of her building, kissing over and over again. In just a few minutes they had gone from never have kissed each other, to kissing so much she lost count how many times she pulled him for another and he did the same.

He rested his forehead on hers, both of their breathing labored and Juvia felt as if her whole body was buzzing in happiness. If she were dreaming, she didn’t want to wake up at all.

“I guess this means I get to ask you out this time?” Gray asked, breathless and Juvia smiled.

“Yes.”

“Alright.” He nodded and kissed her lips lightly. “What are you doing Friday afternoon?”

“Juvia has a feeling you’ll tell her.” She giggled, happily.

“Go out with me again.” Gray said and all Juvia could do was to nod happily and kiss him one more time – it appeared that each time she kissed him, she wanted more, and more and more.

“Of course.” Juvia said the words just to make sure he had no doubts.

“Juvia, I have no idea where this is going.” He told her, serious. “I don’t know if I’m whole enough and I don’t want to hurt you, but I want to see where this goes. You said something about a first step and-”

The blunette put a hand on his cheek and caressed skin with her thumb. “That’s all Juvia can ask of you.” She told him. “We’ll figure things out as we go.”

“Okay.” He nodded and dove in to kiss her one last time and she was already longing for him. “I’ll stop by the diner tomorrow and we can spend your break together?”

“Juvia wouldn’t have it any other way.” She grinned.

Gray stepped away from her and cleared his throat. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Good night.” Juvia said and opened the door of her building and waved at Gray before she closed it. The moment she was alone, though, she couldn’t help herself and just started to jump around, feeling like she was walking over clouds.

She ran the stairs back to her apartment, threw her boots away and got her phone, calling her best friend. It was almost midnight, Gajeel worked early the next day, but Juvia needed to tell him his advice paid up. She would call Cana and Lucy later.

_“What the hell, Juvia?”_ His sleepy voice said from the other side of the line. _“Do you know what time it is?”_

“Gajeel-kun!” Juvia all but squealed in happiness. “Juvia needs you to be a girl for ten minutes for what she’s going to tell you!”

He groaned. _“Juvia, it’s too late for this shit.”_

“Please!” She whined, playfully. “Please, please, please.”

_“Dammit.”_ He complained. _“Fine, but you owe me. Just tell me.”_

Juvia grinned, he really was the best best friend in the world.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *yells incoherently for an hour* Finally!


	5. Boundaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s see how our babies are doing? :)

 

 

Gray couldn’t remember the last time he had been that content with his life, not in the past six months that was for sure. After Daphne had cheated on him, his mood only improved when he was with his friends and he had a permanent frown on his face.

Since he met Juvia, though, it got much easier to smile.

It had been four days since their first date/first kiss and he was looking more and more forward to when they get to meet. They had lunch together with their friends at the university’s cafeteria – she always made sure to sit next to him and he secretly enjoyed that a lot – and he visited her at the diner when it was time for her break.

Oh, how much he enjoyed those breaks. Gray had forgotten how great it was a new relationship, when they were still learning what the other liked and he was definitely enjoying finding out what she liked.

Juvia was like no one else he ever met, she was so responsible and so free at the same time, she’d make him forget about anything bothering him by just smiling.

Between them, he was the one holding back to try not get too involved, but by the way his heart beat faster when she was around, he was going to fight harder. But maybe he’d learn to stop to fight.

His phone buzzed and he couldn’t fight the smile that spread on his face once he saw her name on the screen and opened her text.

**From: Juvia**

_12:07: Are you even giving me a clue of where are we going?_

_12:07: I really need to know what to wear._

Gray grinned and shook his head, he had kept it a secret to where he was taking her on their second date and she wasn’t taking it well.

**To: Juvia**

_12:08: We’ll go have lunch first, but nothing fancy in either place._

**From: Juvia**

_12:09: That doesn’t narrow it down at all._

He chuckled, imagining her pout in frustration and then received another text.

_12:09: Okay, then. Should I wear pants or a dress? Tell me that at least._

Oh, he didn’t even hesitate to type back an answer, her legs were fantastic.

**To: Juvia**

_12:10: Dress. A dress would be nice._

Her answer came fast.

**From: Juvia**

_12:10: I knew you’d came early to the diner for the view. ;)_

_12:11: Those dresses are very short._

**To: Juvia**

_12:11: You say short; I say the right length._

**From: Juvia**

_12:12: I’ll be ready in twenty minutes._

**To: Juvia**

_12:12: I’ll be there in half an hour, don’t need to hurry or anything._

Gray went to take a shower and get ready for their date; he hoped she liked where he was taking her.

**#**

The moment he parked in front of Magnolia’s Aquarium, Juvia looked confused and Gray suddenly felt nervous about his choice. She told him about how she used to go there every week until school started months before and he thought she’d like to come back.

Maybe he was being ridiculous.

“Uh… I thought…” Gray could feel his cheeks get warmer. “You said you liked the Aquarium.”

“I do.” Juvia was fast to assure him. “And I’ll love to go in there with you, I was just surprised to see we are here.” She put a hand on his shoulder and he looked at her in suspicion and Juvia smiled. “Juvia promises you she is actually very excited to go in there.” It took him a moment, but he nodded and it was worth it because Juvia smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss. “Come on.” She opened the door and stepped out.

Feeling slightly better about his choice, Gray came out of the car, locked it and walked his way over to where Juvia stood, looking quite beautiful with her light pink dress, her hair loose and falling down in waves over her shoulder.

“If you want to go anywhere else…” Gray told her when he was next to her, but she just shook her head and stepped in front of him, twining their arms together and resting her chin on his shoulder.

“Just let’s go inside.” She kissed his cheek and he had to fight off a smile. “Juvia hasn’t been in here for months!” She gasped. “What if they have new attractions? Oh, maybe they do! Come on, Gray-sama! I hope they do.”

Juvia pulled him towards the line to buy the tickets and once they were inside, Gray couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The aquarium was beautiful, of course, but Juvia was much more, especially when she was talking so passionately since they stepped inside about all types of fishes they were seeing.

“Did you know that fish have been on the earth for more than 450 million years?” Juvia told him and Gray shook his head and did not miss when she mindlessly slid her hand from his forearm to his hand and was more surprised with his reaction: he wanted to pull it immediately, but then she looked up, her eyes sparkling in excitement and the want went away in a second. “Mammals have only been on earth for around 200 million years.”

“Wow.” Gray raised his eyebrows.

“Yes.” Juvia nodded. “There are more species of fish than all the species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals _combined_.” She told him. “And there are over 27,000 identified species of fish and an estimated 15,000 fish species that have not yet been identified. _Fifteen thousand_ species there are not identified yet! Do you have any idea what it would mean to identify them?”

He smiled at her enthusiasm. “I guess a lot in the fish circles?” She playfully hit him on the shoulder and Gray chuckled. “So, this is what you want to do? Discover fish?” He waved towards the aquarium. “I know I sound like a jerk right now, but… I don’t see the appeal.” Gray said honestly, hoping she wasn’t offended.

Thankfully, she wasn’t.

“Not many people do.” She shrugged and looked back to the aquarium, but he kept staring at her. “At my third foster home, there was this big aquarium and Mrs. Howard, she took care of us, she liked them, her husband had a pet store and he always brought some of the rare fish home to cheer her up for a few days before bringing back to the store. One day, Juvia was curious when a new one arrived and she asked Mrs. Howard. She looked at me and asked if I liked her fish. Juvia was shy, but she nodded and then Mrs. Howard grabbed this large book and gave it to me.

“It was an encyclopedia with so many types of fish, I’ve never seen anything like that before. There were fish, jellyfish, sharks, octopus, sharks and a whole section about mammals. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. She told me to see if I could find what the one she had was. It took me the whole afternoon, because I’d get distracted about other fish.” She smiled at the memory and Gray’s heart beat a bit faster at how she looked. “But eventually I did.”

“What type of fish it was? Do you remember?” Gray asked.

“Yes. It was a Bangaii Cardinalfish.” She told him. “Did you know that the male will hold both eggs and babies in his mouth until the young are ready to swim on their own?”

“Really?”

Juvia nodded. “It is known as ‘mouth brooding’. Anyways, after that I was so fascinated with what I saw that I read that book over and over again. Every time a new fish was brought, she’d ask for Juvia to see if she could find which one was it. She was the best foster parent Juvia had.”

“What happened to her?” Gray asked.

“She passed away in her sleep, she was already old when Juvia got there.” Juvia looked down, sadly and blinked away the tears. “After that, Mr. Howard couldn’t take care of us so we were relocated. He gave me that book, you know? I still have it after all these years.”

“That’s nice.” He kissed the top of her head as a reflex. “I still don’t get the magic of fish, but I can see why you do. So this is why you want to be a marine biologist.”

The blunette nodded. “You should’ve seen me the first time Juvia went to a proper aquarium. It was in a school trip, I was twelve and I spoke more than the guide.” Gray chuckled, imagining a small Juvia speaking non-stop at a field trip about fish, like she had been the whole time they were there, throwing lots of data at him. “When we were leaving, he told me that the people who studied fish were called ichthyologists, but told me that marine biologists had a wider range. It makes me curious and I started to gather information about it; the human race only explored 5 per cent of the ocean, there are so much we still have to discover. Fish was only a way of getting into this, but now... I really am in love with it.”

“Your story is more interesting than mine.” Gray told her as they slowly walked around. “My dad is an architect, he has a construction business and all that. He never pressured me into it or anything, but I kind of always thought it was what I wanted. And it is. I like creating things. I have no imagination to create stories or draw a picture or whatever, but I can see buildings, I like it and I’m good at it.”

They stopped and Juvia let go of his hand – which he oddly missed it – stepped in front of him and put her arms around his shoulders while his hands went straight to her hips, bringing her closer. “Well, it’s not about being interesting or not, it’s about finding your passion and you found yours.” She tip-toed and kissed his lips lightly. “I know virtually nothing about architecture, but if you want to speak for hours about it, I’ll listen because it’s what makes you happy.”

He couldn’t help but to smile a bit and then teased her. “Does that mean I need to hear about some weird algae that glows in the dark for hours too?”

“It’s called fluorescence.” She told him. “And Juvia won’t make you, if you don’t want me to.”

Gray shook his head. “No, I do. It’s who you are and if you can listen to me, I can listen to you. Besides, you are a font of weird facts, who doesn’t want to hear those?” Juvia laughed and Gray kissed her. “Now come on, we have a few more things to see.” He raised his chin towards a sign and Juvia looked over her shoulder to see it. “Apparently we’ll see the penguins next.”

“Penguins!” Juvia exclaimed in happiness when she returned her gaze to him. “When Juvia came here last their little habitat was under renovations and she didn’t get to see them! Juvia loves penguins!”

“I can see that.” He said, amused as she held his hand once again and started to pull him.

“Come on, come on, come on!” The blunette was overexcited. “Did you know that most scientists agree that there are 17 species of penguins? And out of the 17 species, 13 are either threatened or endangered, with some on the brink of extinction. This aquarium rescues injured penguins and set them free once they are fine.”

“See? You know a lot of facts.”

**#**

Once they left the Aquarium, Gray understood Juvia a lot more and the facts she kept throwing his direction were quite good and about five minutes after they arrived to see the penguins, she had about seven children listening to everything she was saying regarding penguins: they asked and she answered them the best she could.

By the end of it, he gave a few steps back and watched her as even adults listened to her explanation about the animals. Gray found out that he didn’t mind at all to listen to her and see her get so excited about a subject and he waved off her apology for being kidnapped by the swarm of children.

Seeing Juvia only had a little over an hour before she had to go to her shift at the diner, Gray drove her home. Apparently she wasn’t ready to say good-bye because she asked if he wanted to go up for a while. Gray found out he wasn’t ready yet as well and was quick to agree.

Her apartment was a very simple one, very small as he thought it would, but very cleaned and organized. The living room had only one couch with three seats, an old stand and an even older TV. There was a very small hall and a door at the end and he assumed it was her bedroom and at his right there was the small kitchen, there was no table but he could see she used the counter by the high chairs next to it and he noticed there were about four batches of cupcakes ready.

“Juvia was very nervous about today.” The blunette said when noticed his gaze. “She told you she bakes when she’s nervous.”

Gray frowned. “Why were you nervous?” He thought they had been doing fine that week.

“You make me nervous.” She shrugged and Gray raised his eyebrows in surprise. So… they were _not_ as fine as he thought they were? Seeing his obvious confusion, Juvia cleared up. “ _Good_ nervous, not bad nervous.” Not looking convinced, Gray kept looking at her in suspicion. “It’s just… Juvia really doesn’t want to mess this up, not after she pretty much gave an ultimatum about this. Whenever you are too close, Juvia’s stomach just starts to have butterflies and I’m afraid I’ll say the wrong thing, or say too much. Juvia talks too much when she’s nervous. Why do you think she couldn’t stop talking today? I was very nervous.”

Gray was surprised with that piece of information. “I thought you were excited about the Aquarium.”

“Oh, I was.” Juvia agreed. “But she’d have talked either way; if we’d have been stuck in traffic for three hours, she’d be talking for two and a half. The Aquarium actually calmed me down because it is my area, so, thanks for that.” She offered him a shy smile.

“Juvia, you don’t need to feel nervous. At least not so nervous you need to bake four batches of cupcakes.” He told her. “I was nervous too, you know?”

“You were?” Juvia looked at him in suspicion.

“Yeah.” Gray nodded. “I thought I was being stupid by taking you to the place you’ve been a hundred times. For a moment there I thought I screwed up.”

“You didn’t, not at all.” Juvia took him by the hand and led him towards the couch, sitting first and he followed her.

“I know that now.” He shrugged. “We will hit a few bumps, but, well… We are learning as we go. I just want you to know that you don’t have to be nervous, or pretend anything with me. It’s better to be real.”

Juvia stared at him for a few moments before nodding. “Unfortunately that won’t stop make me from her nervous baking, but Juvia will try to cut it out to two batches.”

Gray snorted. “Good enough. By the way, if you baked those because of me, I am entitled to some of them, right?” He had had some of Juvia’s baked goods and he all but became an addict, she really knew how to make a good cupcake.

Juvia giggled. “Of course. Juvia will let you have as much as you want.”

Nodding, Gray cupped her face with one hand and leaned in, kissing her lips slowly for a few moments and she sighed contently with the gesture. Taking it as encouragement, Gray started to kiss her deeper and Juvia surrendered quite quickly, her hands on his hair.

Gray couldn’t keep a straight thought after that: she kissed like no one, giving one hundred per cent, holding nothing back and he couldn’t help it but to match her enthusiasm.

A few minutes into kissing with no concerns whatsoever, Juvia pushed him away slightly and he looked at her in confusion; did she want for him to stop?

His answer came when she pushed him so his back rested on his couch and a moment after that, she moved quickly and suddenly she was straddling him, cupping his face with both hands and kissing him again with fervor.

What else could’ve he done other than follow her lead?

One of his hands moved to the back of her neck and the other rested on her hip while Juvia decided that her hands would be of more use if they went up to twine her fingers on his hair.

It was all a blur after that, Gray lost how many times they came up for air just to dive in and kiss again. They had been kissing each other ever since their date, her breaks were occupied with them making-out and Gray had learned a lot about her, a few of her noises and he was more than eager to keep his exploration to what she liked best.

Gray had forgotten how fun it was to have a girl in his arms, just kissing and enjoying each other. He almost forgot they were running a tight schedule and she needed to leave in a few minutes. But his hands didn’t forget the fact his hand was on top of her, so he started moving her on top of him and it felt great.

Juvia gasped with the sensation and he did it again a few more times, mindless of anything else; he was exactly where he wanted to be.

They repeated the process a few times before Juvia stopped kissing him and when Gray opened his eyes, his vision was unfocused for a second but he could see the blunette had her face in a deep red color and her lips were starting to swell because of his kisses.

Such a fine vision.

She bit her lower lip for a moment before speaking. “Uh… Gray-sama, Juvia is not prepared for this yet.”

Gray frowned. What did she mean? She didn’t seem to have a problem with his kisses during the whole time they were together. So, to clarify exactly what she meant, he asked: “This what?”

If possible, she became even redder but looked down; it was Gray’s turn to become red, since he could easily see the bulge on his pants. He cussed inside his mind but clarified the situation to her.

“Yeah, not ready either. Not ready _yet_ , anyway.” Gray told her and she looked at him in disbelief; the blunette moved just a bit atop of him to make a point and he had to bite down the loud noise it would’ve come out. “It’s a biological response to a pretty girl kissing me and on my lap. But just because my body is clearly ready, doesn’t mean my mind is.”

The blunette nodded in understanding. “Yes, Juvia’s too. I think it is too early.” Gray hummed in agreement. “What are you comfortable with?” She caressed the back of his neck slowly. “We should set some boundaries for now.”

He thought for a moment. “Kissing is more than fine with me as of now. You?”

Juvia also took a moment to think. “Kissing and Juvia doesn’t mind if you touch the skin she’s showing.” Gray glanced down to her body and he found out he liked her way of thinking, _a lot_. It meant he could put his hands until the middle of her thighs, and with the modest neckline of her dress, he’d have access to her neck, throat and a part of her cleavage. It was deal he would gladly make.

“Alright.” Gray agreed, “And if those boundaries change…”

“We’ll tell each other and change them.” Juvia completed for him and the dark haired man nodded. She kissed him again, just a peck on the lips. He was so glad Juvia accepted his reason, some women would’ve taken it the wrong way. “Now, we have around fifteen minutes before Juvia has to go get ready for work. Should we test those boundaries?” She raised an eyebrow in a silly flirty way and Gray laughed, pulling her for another kiss.

Yes, Gray was pretty content with his life.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here’s the second date, I hope you liked it!


	6. Old and New Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick update, the next chapter will be more interesting, I promise. *wink wink*

 

“Be nice, alright?” Juvia told Gajeel when she saw the group of friends not too far away from them at the Magnolia’s Fair and the tall man rolled his eyes. Juvia decided to bring Gajeel to meet them in an attempt to socialize him a bit more; he spent all his time at the junkyard and it wasn’t good for him.

“I won’t promise anything.” He told her, grumpy as always.

Juvia stopped in front of him and put a hand on his chest to halt him. “Gajeel-kun.” His red eyes focused on her. “Juvia _really_ likes them; they are very nice and funny. And it would mean a lot to me if you and Gray-sama got along.” Gajeel opened his mouth to say something but she cut him before he could say a word. “Juvia is not asking for you two to become best friends forever, just to be polite. I… I really like him. The past few weeks have been great and if this… whatever it is Gray-sama and I have, is to go forward, I need you two to at least be nice to each other.”

Gajeel stared at her for a moment. “Last time I didn’t trust my gut when you introduced me to Bora and I let…” He gritted his teeth. “I will be the judge if I’ll be nice or not.”

The blunette sighed. “Bora wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I am the one who didn’t see what he was.”

“But when you introduced him to me, I knew there was something shady about him and-”

Juvia shook her head. “Thinking about it won’t change anything. The past is in the past and you’ll see Gray-sama is nothing like him, alright? You’ll see. And in all fairness, you were the one who told Juvia to go after him.” She looked at him pointedly.”

After a moment of silence, Gajeel nodded. “Fine. But if I notice something wrong with him…”

“Yes, yes, you tell me.” She rolled her eyes. “Remember to be nice.” Her only answer was a grunt from him, but it was enough to understand he’d try.

They got closer to the group of people and the first to notice her was Lucy; the blonde smiled her way and looked over her shoulder, said something and looked back to where they were.

“Hi!” Lucy, perky as always, waved in their direction. “We were waiting for you so we can go to the rides.”

Juvia gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She waved her worries off and then looked at Gajeel, next to Juvia and the blonde raised her eyebrows with the sight. Gajeel, was, to say the least, something to look at with how tall he was, long black hair, pierced eyebrows and nose plus his dark clothes. “Well, hello.” Gajeel looked at her up and down and grunted, making the blonde frown. “Not very talkative, is he?”

“Not really.” Juvia smiled. “This is Juvia’s friend, Gajeel. Gajeel-kun, this is Lucy-san.” Seeing the familiar pink shade in the corner of her eye, she looked up and saw Natsu coming their way. “And that is Natsu-san, Lucy-san’s boyfriend.”

“What’s up.” Natsu stopped next to his girlfriend and raised his chin towards Gajeel in a way of greeting. “Natsu Dragneel.”

When he didn’t answer, Juvia elbowed him on the ribs. “Gajeel Redfox.”

Natsu nodded looked in Juvia’s direction. “Gray’s coming, he was buying tickets for the rides.”

“We’ll go meet him.” The blunette said and  waved good-bye, promising to find them when she met Gray. Once they were a few feet away, Juvia whispered to him: “You need to be a little bit more than that sociable, Gajeel-kun.”

“I hate when you change me into your social work.” He rolled his eyes and Juvia smiled, her gaze sweeping the small crowd while looking for Gray.

“Juvia just wants you to not be lonely, Gajeel-kun.” She shrugged. “Now, where’s Gray-sama?” They stopped walking and she got on the tip of her toes while looking for him. The moment she finally found him, she smiled. Gray was just a bit straight ahead, wearing a black coat typing something on his phone. “Come on, found him!”

She didn’t even wait for Gajeel to follow her, just walked in his direction and once she was close enough, she called him. “Gray-sama!”

Gray looked over his shoulder and a beautiful smiled spread on his face when he saw her. He turned around just in time to catch her when she threw herself on him, his arms around her waist and she gave him a peck on the lips.

“Hi.” She said, smiling, while her fingers playing with the short hair behind his neck.

“You are late.” He told her, trying to look stern, but his eyes were soft.

“Sorry.” Juvia told him. “Now come on, there’s someone you have to meet.” Juvia pulled Gray by the hand to where Gajeel stood a few feet behind. “Gray-sama, this is Gajeel-kun, my friend.”

Gray stared at the other man for a moment before offering his hand. “Gray Fullbuster, nice to meet you.”

Gajeel measured Gray for a few seconds, looked up and down and finally shook Gray’s hand. “Gajeel Redfox.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you.” Gray told him. “Juvia is all praises.”

Gajeel snorted. “Same with you. _‘Ah, Gajeel-kun, his smile is sooooo dreamy, he’s so handsome’_.” He mimicked Juvia’s voice and the blunette could feel her cheeks get warmer.

Juvia gasped, not even daring to look in Gray’s direction. “Gajeel-kun!”

“After that first date of yours, she called me and let me tell ya-” The long haired man continued until the blunette slapped his upper arm. “Hey.”

“ _Oh my god, stop embarrassing me_.” Juvia hissed.

“You told me to be sociable.” Gajeel said, looking at her pointedly and he tried to look innocent. “I am just doing what you asked me to and finding something to talk about. Besides, I like embarrassing you.”

“Well, find _something else_ to talk about.” She said between gritted teeth.

His only answer was to snort and shrug. “I tried.”

Juvia turned to look at Gray and he was clearly trying to contain his laughter and her face couldn’t be hotter. “I am so sorry. He lacks his manners.” She narrowed her eyes at her friend before look back to Gray. “Can we _please_ talk about something else?”

“We’ll come back to that later, Gajeel. I want to know more about that phone call.” Gray joked and Juvia looked at him in incredulity and he chuckled before his attention returned to Gajeel. “Come on, let’s meet the rest of the gang. They are crazy, but well… you look like you are crazy yourself, so you’ll just fit in.” Gray shrugged.

The blunette looked to her friend to see his reaction and was pleased to see him snorting. “What the hell, right? Might as well see with whom Juvia spends her time now.” Gajeel put his hands in his pants’ pockets. “I’ll go get tickets for some rides. Be right back.”

“It’s over there.” Gray pointed towards a small shed. “I bought mine and Juvia’s.”

“Be right back.” Gajeel said and walked away.

The moment they were alone, Gray stepped closer to Juvia from behind and said in a low voice: “So, my smile is dreamy, is it?”

Juvia almost jumped when she heard the words and turned around to look at him and she was sure her face was red. “Don’t listen to Gajeel-kun. He is only trying to embarrass Juvia.”

He raised an eyebrow. “So… he was lying.”

“No.” Juvia whispered and looked down. “Juvia told him that.”

“Good to know.” Gray said before leaning and kissing her softly on the lips and she smiled, during their time in public he rarely was the one to show affection first. “I need to talk to him and find out some embarrassing stories about you.”

Juvia groaned. “Gosh, I really shouldn’t have introduced the two of you. What are you gonna do? Compare notes?”

“Perhaps.” He shrugged. “I’ll get some tips. He’s known you since you were a kid.”

“Yes.” She agreed. “But anything you need to know, just ask Juvia and she’ll give you a straight answer.”

“Deal.” Gray smirked. “But I think it’s only fair I get to know someone that has been in your life for a while. I am sure Cana, Lucy, Erza and all the girls are overexcited to absolutely tell you everything about me. Things even _I_ probably don’t know about myself.”

It was Juvia’s turn to giggle. “Maybe.”

“Fair is fair.” He said. “Come on, let’s go find Gajeel and then the others, Cana was after you to go with her to the teacups ride, or whatever? I don’t know, she looked drunk and if you go swirling in that thing with her, get ready to get thrown up at.”

Juvia wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Great. There’s _that_ to look forward to.” Gray smiled and both walked hand to hand to where Gajeel was.

**#**

To the blunette’s surprise, it seemed Gajeel fit right with the boys, challenging them to win the games at the fair and even Gray had been swept in the competition and by the end of the night every girl in the group had earned a stuffed animal. Cana was surprisingly good at the shooting booth even though she was clearly drunk and earned two stuffed animals, so, of course all the boys plus Erza wanted to beat her.

In overall, it was a great night and it had been such a long time since she had seen Gajeel have fun with someone other than herself, she felt she could cry in happiness.

After saying their good-byes to the group, Juvia and Gajeel got a ride with Gray to her apartment. The long haired man even shook Gray’s hand before going towards Juvia’s building, giving the couple some privacy.

Once he was out of earshot, Juvia finally wrapped her arms around Gray’s middle and he put his arms around her as well; with their friends by their side all the time, he preferred not to show much affection. Juvia tip toed and kissed him, to which Gray quickly reciprocate in kind and she hoped he had missed being alone with her just as much she did with him.

“Thank you for today.” She whispered when they broke the kiss.

Gray frowned in confusion. “Thanks for what?”

“Welcoming Gajeel-kun like you did.” Juvia said. “He can be really awkward with people that aren’t, well, _me_. And that’s only because I’ve known him for years.”

“He’s nice.” Gray told her and Juvia’s look of disbelief made him chuckle. “Not nice _nice_ , but cool to hang out with. Seeing him and Natsu trying to outdo one another at those games was hilarious.”

“You played as well.” Juvia smiled.

“Well, they _did_ say I couldn’t win a stuffed animal.” Gray pointed out. “My honor was at stake.”

“And Juvia loved her stuffed octopus, thank you very much.” She chuckled and looked to the item in question inside the car next to her purse; it was pink, in a _chibi_ version and pretty much the cutest thing ever. “Did you know that the oldest known octopus’ fossil belongs to an animal that lived 296 million years ago, during the [Carboniferous period](http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/carboniferous/carboniferous.php)?” She told him excitedly. “And that they have three hearts?”

Gray laughed. “I knew it was the right choice for you instead of a bear or something.”

“It was, yes.” Juvia kissed him again and they stayed like that for a few minutes before she sighed and broke the kiss. “Juvia has to go upstairs.”

“Alright.” Gray agreed.

She was about to let go of him, but thought it better; they had something to talk about. “Gray-sama.” He looked at her. “Gajeel-kun spends some nights here when it’s too late for him to catch the bus or he appears out of nowhere and takes a nap.”

“Okay?” Gray frowned in confusion with her words, clearly not getting her meaning.

“Juvia knows the circumstances of which you found out about your ex.” His body tensed and she bit her lower lip before speaking again. “Juvia just wants to tell you that Gajeel-kun does spend a night or two here and my couch doesn’t fit him, so he just sleeps next to me.”

“I see.” It was his answer and she didn’t know what to make of that.

“It’s just like two siblings sleeping on the same bed.” She told him. “Juvia told you he is her only family, she never thought of him in any other way.” Gray’s body relaxed a bit, but not fully. “I just don’t want you to think I am hiding something, because I’m _not_ , and I’d hate for you to get the wrong impression.”

It took Gray a moment to nod and answer. “I understand.” Juvia looked at him with suspicion. “I do, really. I was just caught by surprise with the mention of what happened with Daphne and it brought some bad memories. I got to watch you two today and it’s just like any other siblings I know, teasing each other and worried.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Are you sure you understand?” She asked.

“Sure.” He shrugged. “I have two siblings myself and a lot of annoying friends, I had to share beds too. Just… please understand if I suddenly have a frown or whatever; like I said: bad memories.”

“Of course.” The blunette nodded and caressed his forearm. “Just so you know, Juvia will never do anything like that. _Ever._ Juvia knows how much it hurt and you are the last person she’d want to hurt.”

Gray seemed to consider her words before nodding in agreement. “Alright.” He gave her a peck on the lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow at lunchtime?”

“Sure.” She told him.

“And don’t forget there’s that party Friday and the Finale the Friday after that. Cana said she better see all of us there at that party otherwise we’ll have to deal with her.” Gray made a disgusted face. “I hate when she days that, because I know she’ll go through with it. And she said to bring Gajeel too.”

Juvia smiled. “Okay, I’ll talk to him.” She reached inside the car to get her purse and stuffed octopus. “Good-night, Gray-sama.”

“Good-night.” He said and watched her until she opened the door to her building and waved when she got in and then closed the door.

**#**

“So… what do you think of Gray-sama?” Juvia asked when she slid to the bed next to her friend. Gajeel was taking a shower when Juvia got to her apartment and she went in right after him so she didn’t ask before then.

Gajeel shrugged. “He seems decent enough. I’ll keep an eye on him, but I didn’t get any weird feelings coming from him or his weird friends.” He looked at her, confused. “They… seem actually nice.”

Juvia smiled softly to her friend. “We see so much ugliness in the world that sometimes when people are nice to us, we don’t understand why.” She shrugged. “The reason is that some people are just like that: nice.”

He agreed with a hum and Juvia looked through her texts on her phone. After a minute, Gajeel spoke. “Juvia?” She made a sound to indicate she was listening. “What’s the name of that girl with blue hair? The small one.”

The blunette frowned and looked to her friend. “Levy-san?”

“Yeah, that’s her.” Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest and he was thinking hard. “Could you… uh… apologize to her for me?” Juvia’s frown deepened and Gajeel explained. “You know I… you know words aren’t my thing. They get all scrambled.” She agreed. “But today I was an ass to her when she asked if the letters were too small on the tickets because I was squinting at them.” He looked down in clear shame. “It wasn’t nothing much, just a silly question, probably so I wouldn’t be out of place while waiting in line or whatever, but…”

“You got defensive.” Juvia said and he nodded in agreement. “People don’t know you are not good with words just by looking at you, Gajeel-kun. People are going to assume you don’t want to read at the moment or that you need glasses, you know that.”

“I know.” He groaned. “That’s why I’m asking you to tell her I’m sorry.”

Juvia looked at him, studying her friend and he was looking rather sheepishly and Juvia wondered what was going on with her friend.

“No.”

Gajeel stared at her, surprised. “No?”

“No.” Juvia decided. “ _You_ made the mistake, _you_ were rude so _you_ will be the one to apologize to her.”

“When exactly I’ll bump into her to apologize?” Gajeel rolled his eyes. “I don’t know if you noticed, but we are not in the same circles.”

“You are now.” Juvia gave him a triumphant smile. “There’s a party Friday night and you are going.” He opened his mouth to tell her no, but she didn’t let him. “Don’t even. You are going. You had fun today and you are going to have fun Friday.”

Gajeel fell back on the bed and groaned in annoyance. “I shouldn’t have given you that advice to go after Gray. My life is getting changed because of that.”

“Yes, it is.” Juvia chuckled and kissed his cheek. “If you don’t want to do it in front of people, Levy-san works at a bookstore downtown, I’ll text you the address. Also, she is studying librarianship at the university.”

“ _Of course_ she is into books and words and letters. Just my luck.” Gajeel said with a pained sigh. “Fine. I’ll go, since you are being a pain about it.”

“You are becoming such a big boy. Mommy is so proud.” Juvia put a hand on her chest over her heart and Gajeel snorted and Juvia finally lied down.

“Weirdo.”

**#**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, people requested Gajeel met Gray and Levy, so here we are. The Gajevy relationship will be like Nalu’s and be very background, but I guarantee they’ll get together. HAHA Next chapter things will get steamier. *winks*


	7. Out Of Their Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note the change in rating. ;) (but don’t worry, it’s not ‘the event’ yet)

 

Gray was waiting for Juvia outside the diner, leaning on his car and checking his texts – he had sent one to Juvia five minutes before and she replied telling him she would be ready in a bit – rolling his eyes at Cana’s messages asking where he and Juvia were. After he replied, Gray glanced up towards the door and his eyes widened at the sight.

Juvia was wearing a tight strapless black dress, it reached to middle of her thigh and her legs looked even better with the black high heels she was using. Her cleavage was also accentuated because of the dress, and Gray didn’t know his favorite place to look. Her blue hair was loose and fell in waves and curls over her shoulders, her make-up was dark around the eyes, but she chose a soft lipstick color.

She had a backpack in her hand and she smiled his way once she spotted him and Gray just knew he was looking like an idiot. “So?” Juvia asked once she was close enough, putting the backpack down and circling to show him the whole look. “Does Juvia look okay? This dress is Cana-san’s, she told me it looked good.”

“It does.” Gray said, dumbly, staring at her. “You look…” He cleared his throat. “Good. This is _very_ good.”

Juvia looked pleased and stepped forward, putting a hand on his chest. “Great.” She kissed his lips and Gray was eager to kiss her back; she looked stunning and he couldn’t help it but to make it longer than it was proper for a public kiss. “Oh.” Juvia breathed when their lips unlocked and he kissed her softly one more time before getting her backpack from the ground. “So you _really_ liked this dress.”

Gray smiled. “Perhaps.” He opened the back door of his car and put the backpack inside. “This thing is heavy.”

“Juvia’s going to sleep at Lucy-san’s place tonight after the party.” Juvia told him, opening the car’s door and getting in, Gray did the same once he walked around the car. “She asked me yesterday, I forgot to mention.”

“It’s alright.” He shrugged and put the seatbelt on, and so did Juvia. “It’s nice you two are getting closer.”

The blunette hummed in agreement. “By the way, we are going to the movies tomorrow afternoon around two, us and Lucy-san and Natsu-san. Is it alright for you?”

“Great.” Gray rolled his eyes. “Two hours in a closed space with Natsu.”

Juvia chuckled, leaned in, kissed her way from his cheek to his ear and whispered, after nibbling with his earlobe: “Juvia will reward you for it, Gray-sama.” He turned his head and captured her lips with his, his hand going to the back of her neck. She chuckled when she interrupted the kiss and he tried to do it again. “But the reward comes later. Now we need to go to the party.”

Gray closed his eyes, groaned and rested back on the seat. “That damn party. Do you really want to go?” He opened one eye to look at her and her grin was the answer he needed. “Fine. I hope I get compensated later.”

“Of course.” Juvia told him. “Now come on, Gajeel-kun said he was getting there and if Juvia’s not there soon, he’ll leave. Or _worse_ , talk to people unsupervised.” Gray snorted, but nodded and started the car.

**#**

The party was, as expected, loud and Gray had lost Juvia to the swarm of his female friends once he told her he wasn’t a big fan of dancing in public. After making sure Gray would go find Gajeel, Juvia left and was happily dancing with the other girls.

Gray, Gajeel and Natsu were by the bar and the only one without an alcoholic beverage was Gray, as he would drive home afterwards.

“I really don’t see the fun in a place full of people and loud music.” Gajeel told the other two men.

“They are having fun.” Natsu waved towards the place the girls, his girlfriend included, were. “Single guys come to parties like this to find someone to hook up with. I have a girlfriend and I prefer a place with only my friends partying, but Lucy likes the music or whatever so I come with her when she asks me to.”

“I don’t mind.” Gray shrugged. “I’d rather be home, but this is not too bad. They are having fun over there, we are talking over here.” He looked over his shoulder just to make sure the girls were fine and after a quick look, he saw them laughing and knew they were. “It’s cool to me as long as everyone is having a good time.”

Gajeel snorted. “I don’t even like this kind of music.” He said as they heard electronic music echo.

“Yeah, because we do.” Gray said sarcastically and rolled his eyes and Natsu laughed. “We like rock better and I suppose you do too?” Gajeel nodded. “You see, once you are in a relationship, you can teach your girlfriend about your tastes and she’ll get some of that to herself as well. But it works both ways.”

“I can stand romantic songs now. Electronic doesn’t bother me anymore.” Natsu told the long haired man. “And Lucy hums rock songs without even noticing. It’s a two-way street.”

“I don’t do relationships.” Gajeel snorted.

Gray and Natsu looked at each other with knowing eyes and their attention returned to Gajeel. “Sure you don’t.” Gray patted him on the back. “I thought I wouldn’t have a relationship again, but then Juvia appeared and changed the game.”

“I didn’t think about relationships until I met Lucy.” Natsu added. “Some people are really not interested in it and others just need to find the right person.”

“How many of those did you have?” Gray laughed and pointed to Natsu’s beer. “You sound so sappy.”

“Shut up Mr. My-Heart-Was-Made-Of-Ice-Until-Juvia-Melted-It.” Natsu punched Gray’s shoulder lightly.

Gajeel looked at them as if they were crazy. “You two are idiots.”

“Pretty much.”

“Yes.” Gray agreed and took a sip of his soda. “So, what are the bands you are into?” They started to chat about some of the best bands and the discussion became heated when they talked about the best songs of all time, but it was entertaining enough.

A while later Gajeel seemed to have found someone in the crowd and excused himself. The remaining two looked the way he ran to and they identified the petite blunette as their friend, Levy McGarden. Gray raised an eyebrow and looked back to his friend, and Natsu just shrugged. “Hey, as far as we know, she’s his right person.” Natsu said.

“God knows we’ve found them in the craziest places.” Gray said and took a sip of his drink. They started to talk about Gray’s game the following week and plays he could make; so time flew for them. Both realized how much time it passed when their girlfriends hugged them from behind in a coordinated attack.

“Hi, Gray-sama.” Juvia kissed his cheek and Gray turned around in her arms. She was sweating a bit, her hair was glued to some of her skin but her smile and the sparkle in her eyes made her look breathtaking. She kissed his lips and he could taste tequila in her mouth.

“Having a good time?” Gray asked, putting his hands on her hips. “I thought you didn’t like to drink and that you got sad when you did. You don’t look sad.”

“Two shots of tequila.” She showed her two fingers and he smiled. “This is the line. If Juvia takes another one, tears. But right now she’s just… buzzed.”

“Buzzed?” Gray wondered, clearly amused by her actions and she nodded, a large smile on her lips. She reached for his soda and finished it. “Alright, then.”

“Juvia was thinking…” She said, playing with the collar of his shirt, his mood sobering quickly. “Maybe she can reschedule her sleepover with Lucy-san tonight and go home with you.”

His heart was beating so fast and he couldn’t believe her words. “Uh…” He gulped. “Juvia, you drank, we really shouldn’t-”

The blunette giggled. “Just to _sleep_ tonight, Gray-sama.” He let out a breath he was holding. “We will talk about going further.”

“We… will?” Gray’s mind was threatening to leak from his ears.

“Don’t you want to talk about it?” She pulled him for a peck on the lips. “Hm?”

“Talking is good.” He nodded. “I’m ready to talk.” Juvia smiled at how he sounded and he felt his cheeks get warmer. “Shut up.”

“Alright, then. A sleepover with you it is.” Juvia giggled. “I want to dance more!” She told him, excited, gave him a last peck on the lips and stepped away, grabbing Lucy’s hand and pulling her towards the crowd. The blonde interrupted the sentence she was speaking with her boyfriend and laughed while being pulled, waving at Natsu.

“Hey, why are you so red?” Natsu asked, looking at Gray, who became even redder with the question.

“Nothing.” Gray cleared his throat and asked the bartender for another soda. Natsu kept looking at him as if waiting for an answer and Gray huffed in annoyance. “Juvia… she said she wants to sleep at my place tonight instead of Lucy’s.”

“Finally you will get laid.” Natsu slapped him on the back, laughing. “Maybe now you’ll stop acting like you’ve got a stick up your ass.”

“Natsu!” Gray was surprised.

“What?” The pink haired man smiled his way. “I know you being an ass is your default setting, but since Juvia appeared you are better. And you’ve gone through what? Six months in a dry spell? Anyone would be moody.”

“Eight months.” Gray managed to muttered.

Natsu whistled. “That’s a _long_ time. Do you still know how is it done?” He asked, feigning concern. “Do you think you will be able to hold on, you know… a while?” Gray groaned and hid his face on his hands while his friend put a hand over his heard and put on a worried façade. “What? I’m a concerned friend.”

“Just… shut up.” Gray told Natsu between gritted teeth and he laughed. “She’s _just sleeping_ over there.”

“Sure she is, buddy.” Natsu snorted.

**#**

It was early morning by the time they left the party, Gajeel had appeared briefly to say good-bye to Juvia around two in the morning and his face was quite red and no one dared to ask him why. Gray gave Natsu and Lucy a ride back to her apartment and drove to his apartment, Juvia was chatting to him about how much fun she had that night.

He got her backpack and led her inside once he parked on his building’s parking garage. Juvia grabbed his hand as they rode the elevator to his floor.

“ _This_ is your apartment?” Juvia asked in wonder the moment she stepped inside. The apartment was spacious and well furnished, there was a large TV on the wall of the living room with what she assumed was the best video-game he could afford, the couch was L shaped and looked quite comfortable. She noticed the beautiful table at the same room, but two different spaces: living and dining room. She gave a peek on the kitchen and it was all very clean and new. She turned to look at him in surprise. “This apartment fits easily two of mine and Juvia didn’t see everything yet.”

Gray shrugged. “It’s my dad’s. He’s an architect, like I told you, and he owns a construction company and he has buildings all over the country. He had this one set up for me when he knew I was graduating in Magnolia.”

“This is actually _yours_?” She blinked in surprise.

“My dad’s.” He told her again, taking off his wallet and keys from his pocket and putting on the kitchen counter and her backpack next to it. “But sure, right now it’s mine. Come on, let’s see the rest.” He offered his hand, which was unusual, but Juvia just grabbed his hand to follow him.

“I really went through the rabbit hole this time.” She muttered to herself.

Gray showed her the guest room and she commented she never had a guest room before, and she looked surprised when she saw his bedroom and the clothes scattered on the floor. “Shit.” He said and started to take them off the floor while she giggled. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting-”

“It’s alright, Gray-sama.” Juvia touched his back. “It’s actually cleaner than Juvia thought it would be for a single man living alone.”

Gray threw the clothes over a chair he had on the corner where he had his study desk and his face was redder when he looked at her. “I wasn’t expecting company. And Magnolia is very hot, so I just… take off my clothes and I forget to pick them up and I-”

Juvia stepped closer to him, put a hand on his chest and kissed his lips. “Juvia is messy too.”

He put a hand on the back of her neck, their lips almost touching. “I’ve seen your apartment; you are really _not_ messy.” He kissed her deeper.

“You should see Juvia’s kitchen when she’s finished baking.” She told him when he started to kiss her jaw. “It’s messy.” Gray hummed and Juvia giggled when he kissed her neck.

Gathering all his power, Gray gave her one last kiss before stepping back from her, regrettably. He cleared his throat and pointed to a door at the other side of the room. “The bathroom is that way. I’ll get you a towel.” She nodded. “Erm, do you want me to prepare the guest bedroom or…” He waved in the direction of his bed.

“Juvia is fine sleeping here, unless you don’t want her to.” She told him.

Gray nodded. “Okay, I’ll get a pillow for you at the other bedroom to bring it here. I’ll shower in the guest bathroom.” Juvia smiled and went out of the bedroom to get her backpack while Gray found a clean towel for her. Juvia thanked him and went inside.

**#**

Juvia was looking at her reflection in Gray’s bathroom mirror, suddenly feeling nervous. She put her toothbrush inside her small necessaire and passed a hand through her hair. And examined her clothes and she groaned; she should’ve brought something better than shorts and a tight white shirt.

“Now _that’s_ sexy, Juvia.” She muttered to herself, arranging her hair to fall over her shoulder. “Okay. Okay. You can do this. Just sleeping. Some great kissing if Juvia’s lucky.” Juvia rearranged her breasts so they looked better and once she was satisfied, she nodded to her reflection once more. “You were pretty forward today, let’s not disappoint now. You can do this.”

After taking a deep breath, Juvia opened the bathroom door and took a deep breath when she saw Gray standing next to the bed. He was shirtless and wearing pajama bottoms. If she thought she knew what he was hiding underneath his clothes, she was mistaken. It was unbelievable how defined his muscles were and his six pack was unbelievable. She couldn’t take her eyes away from him even when she placed her backpack on the floor next to the door.

He looked up in her direction and Juvia couldn’t help it but to smile. “Juvia would’ve chosen something better if she knew she was going to spend the night here.” She looked down to her clothes and Gray snorted.

“That’s fine.” He shrugged. “Do you prefer a side?” He pointed at the bed. “Usually I sleep on the left, but I don’t care much.”

“Juvia will take the right side, then.” Juvia told him and walked closer to the bed.

Gray suddenly seemed nervous. “Do you need anything else? I could-”

“Gray-sama.” Juvia cut him and he looked her way. “Let’s not make this awkward.” She sat on the bed and looked over her shoulder, in his direction. “It’s past 4 a.m., let’s sleep.”

“Okay.” Gray cleared his throat and went to turn off the lights, the only ones left were form the lamps on each side of the bed. “Not making awkward. Sure.” He muttered to himself and Juvia smiled, pushing the covers away and sliding underneath them, happily lying down on the comfortable mattress. She watched Gray do the same.

A few seconds passed before Juvia looked to Gray’s side and saw him looking up to the ceiling. “Uh… Gray-sama?” Juvia asked in a whisper and he looked in her direction. “Can Juvia get closer to you?” He nodded and Juvia first turned off the lamp on her side of the bed and then slowly slid closer to his body. She put a hand on his bare chest and felt his heart beat underneath her fingertips. He turned his body her way and she smiled. “Can Juvia kiss you?”

“Are you really going to ask permission for everything?” Gray rolled his eyes and kissed her before she could answer, his hand going to her hip, bringing her closer to him. Juvia’s hand went to grab his shoulder, and she smiled into the kiss when he rolled over and was on top of her. They had made out a lot during the three weeks they had been going out but that was the first time he was actually on top of her; usually he let her take the reins to what she was comfortable with.

Gray kissed her jaw and down her throat to the junction between her neck and shoulder while Juvia caressed his back, gasping every time he bit her skin. “Gray-sama.” Juvia breathed when he kissed her cleavage and she groaned in protest when he stopped.

“We were supposed to sleep.” He told her and kissed her lips, his tone coated with regret. “And you drank.”

“Two shots of tequila aren’t enough for Juvia not know what she’s doing.” She pointed out.

“I know.” Gray gave her a peck on the lips. “But if we don’t stop it will be even harder for me to fall asleep.” Juvia pouted but nodded and sighed. Gray rolled off of her and Juvia rested her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “If you wake up before me and need anything, just get it. I don’t mind.”

“Alright.” She kissed his cheek. “Good night, Gray-sama.”

“Good night.” He told her and turned off the lamp next to the bed.

**#**

The first time Juvia woke up, she was confused for a moment before she turned and saw Gray, lying on his stomach, facing away from her. The blanket he had pulled over them a few hours before, was low, just above his butt and Juvia smiled. She kissed his shoulder and glanced at the clock, seeing it was just a bit after eight.

Juvia got up and quietly went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and she looked around the apartment before she put the glass away and returned to Gray’s bedroom, she was still tired from the night before.

When she got inside, Juvia saw Gray was sitting on the bed, looking confused. He looked her way when she closed the door behind her. “Where-?”

“Juvia went to get some water. Sorry.” She told him and she was glad his curtains were heavy and there was almost no light coming from the window.

“It’s too early to be up.” Gray lied back down the bed and watched Juvia return to under the covers. He slid closer to her, her back touching his front. Gray put a hand over her stomach and hid his face on the back of her neck. “You wake up too early.”

Juvia chuckled, she’d never guess Gray liked to cuddle. “Sorry.” Gray hummed in agreement. “Let’s sleep a bit longer.”

His breathing became rhythmic after a few minutes and soon Juvia was falling asleep again as well with the feeling of Gray’s body pressed against hers.

The second time Juvia woke up, she was alone in bed and Gray’s side was lukewarm. Juvia stretched her body and glanced at the clock, 12:11 p.m., and it surprised her to have slept that late, but it was time to get up.

She went to the bathroom, took care of her morning needs, brushed her teeth and finally walked out the bedroom. The TV was on, so Juvia walked to the living room and saw Gray lying on the couch and the moment he noticed her, he sat. “Hey.”

“Good morning.” Juvia said, stepping closer to him.

“Good morning.” Gray answered, watching her sit on the couch next to him. “Was the TV too loud? I didn’t want to wake you.”

“You didn’t.” She rested her chin on his shoulder. “Juvia slept more than she usually does.”

“I can’t believe you don’t sleep in even during your off days.”

The blunette chuckled. “Juvia’s an early bird and if she hadn’t danced so much last night, I wouldn’t have returned to sleep after that first time I got up. Give me two hours of sleep and Juvia will be wired the following day. Give me 6 hours of sleep and Juvia will be lazy the next day.”

“You are so weird.” Gray told her with affection and she smiled.

“Lie down.” She told him and after looking at her for a moment, Gray did what was told and Juvia lied on top of him; her head on his shoulder, one of his hands on the small of her back. “What are we watching?”

“A documentary about ancient monuments.” Gray answered, looking to the TV. “I was just waiting for you to get up so we could eat, but it’s quite interesting.”

“Hm.” Juvia watched the documentary for a few minutes before she got bored. Maybe some other time she could watch it with more interest, but at the moment Gray was shirtless underneath her and she was more than happy to enjoy the time they had on their own. “How interesting?”

“Very.” He told her. The blunette started to kiss the side of his neck slowly and her hand touched the firm muscles of his stomach and up. She nibbled his jaw and she felt his hand lower from the small of her back to her ass. “What are you doing?”

“Distracting you.” She answered.

“You are doing a great job with that.” Gray muttered and Juvia kissed his lips, deepening it, getting his full attention. Juvia sighed into the kiss and lost notion of time while kissing her boyfriend, content to be there but after a few moments, it wasn’t enough anymore.

Juvia could feel he was getting harder under her and she started to rock her hips, grinding onto him and Gray let out a moan when they stopped kissing to get some air. She didn’t stop moving, feeling more excited while she kissed his chest, Gray threw back his head when she kissed his chest and one of her hands slid between them to grab the bulge on his pajama pants.

“Juvia.” Gray said between gritted teeth when Juvia moved her hand slowly, caressing him. “Oh.”

She kissed his lips and whispered: “Remember when Juvia told you she was fine with you touching the skin she was showing?” Gray nodded and groaned in annoyance when he tried to kiss her, but she moved away instead, sitting on his lap providing a painful pleasure to him. He put his hands on her hips and watched as Juvia reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled over her head. “Same rule.”

“ _Oh, fuck_.” Gray whispered, his eyes wide and gaze glued to her breasts, the only thing she was wearing was her shorts. His hands moving from her hips to her waist as he sat, their chests almost touching. “Juvia…”

She kissed his lips and suddenly Gray’s hands were everywhere, touching her bare skin, her hips moving on top of his once again. One of his hands grabbed her left breast, pinching her nipple and Juvia stopped the kiss to gasp, her hands going to his shoulders. Without hesitating, Gray kissed her cleavage, the top side of her right breast and finally sucked on her nipple.

Juvia gasped his name and her hands went to grab his hair while she threw her head back, her body arching to get closer to Gray and her hips moving to get some friction. Gray did the same thing with her other breast and Juvia could only feel his lips on her skin and how hot that made her.

His mouth worked harder on her breasts and Juvia’s eyes rolled to the back of her head when he bit her lightly and then harder. “Gray-sama.” Juvia moaned and it seemed to only fuel Gray even more, his hands on her hips, moving her faster on top of him.

“Fuck.” He said when he let go of her breast and pulled her to kiss her lips. “Juvia.” They were both breathing hard, and even though Juvia was feeling more than excited, she knew it would take a bit more for her to get there, but by the way Gray was pressing on her center with only their underwear as barriers, and the way he was moving her on top of him, he would snap soon.

Juvia kissed his mouth and it seemed his focus went that direction, thankfully. Juvia slid her hand between them, touching his chest, down to his stomach and finally to his erection and Gray moaned loudly into the kiss, but Juvia didn’t give him time to think too much, continuing to kiss him. Juvia slipped her hand inside his underwear and curled her fingers around his shaft, that time Gray stopped kissing her.

“Oh god.” He moaned, moving his hips to get friction. Taking it as consent, Juvia kissed his jaw and down to his neck while moving her fist, as Gray held her hips in a strong grasp, moving them so Juvia grinded herself on his leg. “Juvia, I…” Gray gasped when her thumb circled the head of his shaft. “Shit, Juvia I’m gonna-”

“Let go, Gray-sama.” Juvia whispered in his ear, nibbling his earlobe and her hands moving faster. “You can come.”

With a loud groan, Gray threw his head back and tensed, his hold on her hips tightening to almost painful. Juvia felt his release in her hand but she was much more interested in watching Gray’s face and she couldn’t believe she was responsible for it.

Juvia brought Gray’s face closer to hers and kissed him, he was still recovering from the orgasm, but he kissed her back lazily lying back to the couch, Juvia on top of him. She gave him a peck on the lips and removed her hand from inside his underwear, cleaning it up the best she could on her shorts – she had to remember to put that on the washing machine the moment she got home.

“Holy shit.” Gray whispered a few moments later, his breathing still labored and he was looking to the ceiling with his eyes wide and then looked down on Juvia, who was lying half on top of him and half on the couch. “That was- It was-”

Juvia smiled brightly at him. “Juvia guesses you enjoyed that?”

“That’s an understatement.” Gray blinked and looked down to himself. “I know I made a mess but I really don’t care right now.” The blunette smiled and kissed his lips. “You know, I will repay this to you, just let me catch my breath here.” Gray muttered, his mind clearly plotting something already and Juvia’s body got hot all over.

“Juvia wishes we had the time.” She told him and pouted. “But remember? We are going to the movies with Lucy-san and Natsu-san? The session starts at two and we need to take a shower, get dressed, have lunch…”

“Damn.” Gray groaned in annoyance, while his eyes roamed over her naked torso and she saw him lick his lips. Juvia looked down and noticed that on her breasts, her normally pale skin was red because of his ministrations and even though he had been quite close with them just a few minutes before, Juvia felt the urge to cover them so Gray could focus back on their conversation. He sighed at the lost, but his eyes returned to Juvia’s face. “Can’t it be rescheduled? We are having so much more fun in here on our own…”

“Juvia already rescheduled the sleepover.” She moved away from him and got up from the couch and she blushed when she couldn’t find her shirt right away. “Where…?”

“Close to the end of the couch.” Gray pointed out and he looked way too satisfied than he should’ve. He watched Juvia grab the shirt and put it over her chest. “Are you sure we gotta go? This has been the best morning I’ve had in months.”

“It’s way past morning, Gray-sama, but nice try.” Juvia told him and Gray huffed in annoyance but got up, looking at himself with a disgusted face to his underwear and lower abdomen.

“Cleaning up is never fun.” He sighed in resignation and got closer to her, leaning to kiss her lips. “Just so you know, next time I’m making you as crazy as you made me.”

Juvia shuddered with his promise and cleared her throat. “Good.” She told him. “Next time we are not stopping.” She told him and turned to walk towards his bathroom.

He groaned. “You can’t say that to a guy when we are going to be in public in a few minutes. That’s not going to get out of my head.” Juvia giggled with his words.

It wouldn’t get out of her head as well.

**#**

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo… Yeah.


	8. Melt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm earning that M rating. It's "the event", the chapter is pretty much it. haha

 

Gray closed the apartment door behind him and Juvia put her purse on the counter. He had picked her up at the diner after her shift and Juvia asked him to come up, bribing him with a cupcake.

"The cupcakes are in the fridge." Juvia said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Juvia needs to take a shower. Are you staying?"

"If you want me to." Gray shrugged, Juvia had slept in his place one more time during the five days since they had hit third base, but that time they had been too exhausted to do anything and just slept in each other's company.

"Juvia wants you to." She smiled and Gray kissed her.

"Then I'll stay."

"Good." She let go of him and walked towards her bedroom, getting her towel, but she hesitated when it was time to select her sleepwear. In her drawer, she found the piece of lingerie she had bought when Cana and Lucy had taken her shopping a week before and they all agreed Juvia would blow Gray's mind away if she worn it.

It was a matter to decide if it was said time or not.

Juvia had planned on sleeping with him the next day, after the game so to not distract him the night before the competition. But… she bit her lower lip, they were together, in her apartment, no one to bother them, they weren't tired and better: she felt she was ready and so was he.

Perhaps she didn't need the game to make it memorable, just needed what they had.

Deciding, Juvia grabbed the lingerie set and her robe before stepped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

**#**

Juvia looked at her reflection in the mirror and bit her lower lip. Her heart was beating so fast, her palms were sweating a bit, and she hoped she looked good: she had spent a good amount of money on the see-through black lace bra and panties she had on and she really hoped it wasn't in vain.

If she played her cards right, that would be the night she would sleep with Gray. Well, if she didn't make a fool of herself, that was.

The blunette got her dark blue satin short robe, tying it up on her waist and after taking a deep and long calming breath, she finally gathered the guts to leave the bathroom.

She walked towards the living room and saw Gray sitting on the couch, flipping through the TV channels and Juvia pushed the nervousness away and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him from behind, kissing his cheek.

"You need cable." Gray told her and Juvia giggled. "I mean it, who doesn't have cable nowadays?"

"Juvia." She answered. "I don't watch too much TV."

"So what am I supposed to do in here while you get ready or whatever?" He asked, playfully.

"Don't know." She let go of him and once she saw him looking at her over his shoulder and started to walk around the couch, without taking her eyes from him. Juvia saw him get the remote and quietly turn off the TV. Juvia stopped in front of him and Gray straightened his body, still not doing anything; he was waiting her move. Her heart was beating even faster when she put her hands on his hair and leaned in, touching his lips with hers in a sweet kiss.

"Juvia?" Gray asked in a whisper when she broke the kiss and took a step back. She bit her lower lip, nervous, but gathered enough courage to reach for the knot of her rope and slowly undo it, opening it and shrugging it, let it fall on the floor. There she was, in her see-through bra and panties, waiting for his reaction.

The strangled breath Gray took when he saw her without the robe empowered her in a way she didn't know she could and it motivated her to step closer and straddle him. She kissed his lips and a second later, Gray's hands were on her waist, while Juvia cupped his face with hers.

"What the hell are you wearing?" He breathed when Juvia started to kiss his jaw, one of his hands resting on her ribs and the other on her hip, his thumb caressing the bone there over the lace.

"Juvia bought this for you." She informed him and bit his neck lightly, to which Gray moaned and Juvia smiled, her lips still on his skin. "Did you like it?"

"It looks better on you than it would on me, that's for sure." Gray told her and Juvia's giggle made him smile, returning to kiss his lips. His hand cupped her breast, the lace of her bra the only thing between his palm and her skin; his other hand, though, cupped one of the cheeks of her ass, bringing her closer. Juvia let go of his hair and reached for the hem of his shirt and they had to stop kissing so she could pull it over his head. The blunette threw it over her shoulder and kissed him again. "Juvia." Gray panted between kisses. "Tell me where I can touch you."

"Anywhere." Juvia said and took his hands on hers, placing them between her breasts while he rested her forehead on his. "It opens on the front." She muttered and Gray captured her lips with his and his hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs caressing her nipples through the fabric and she moaned quietly with the action. "Gray-sama."

Without saying a word, Gray kissed her cleavage, down to the top of her left breast and his mouth finally found her nipple. Even with it covered, she could feel the hotness of his mouth and tongue and she gasped, putting her hands on his hair, trying to bring him closer.

Gray did the same with her other breast and Juvia huffed in annoyance. "Take it off." She whispered, annoyed. "Take it _off_." Gray didn't follow the instructions right away, just teased for a few seconds more and then finally opened the clasp between her breasts and Juvia was quick to shrug it off and in no time, Gray's mouth was on her. "Oh." Juvia gasped when he sucked on her breast a bit too rough and it made her body feel as if it was burning and Juvia had to hang on to him.

One of his hand cupped her breast and caressed its way down to her navel and he stopped when he felt the soft fabric of her underwear. "Juvia…?" The blunette had to blink two times before she realized what he was asking with his dark eyes: her permission to go further. Juvia kissed him while putting her hand over his and guiding it inside her panties. She gasped when she felt Gray's fingers touch where she needed him the most and Gray made a strangled groan. "Fuck, you are going to kill me." He whispered.

Gray started to map out the shape of her sex gently and Juvia brought his face up so she could kiss him deep and slow and Juvia could feel the bulge in his pants and she could feel herself getting hotter and wetter, making her move her hips to feel him better.

"Juvia, I need to know." He didn't stop his light touching of her sex, just teasing her. "What are the boundaries for tonight?"

She kissed him for a moment, biting his lower lip. "Juvia told you we wouldn't stop the next time. I want to go all the way." She told him. "If it's okay with you."

Gray's breath got caught in his throat and Juvia could see his cheeks get pinker, but he nodded. "Very much okay with me, yes." Juvia smiled and moved her hips to create some friction where Gray's hand had stilled inside her panties. Gray got the hint really quickly and started to touch her in earnest, but a few seconds later, he stilled, his whole body tensed. "Shit." Gray whispered and Juvia frowned, as if asking him what the problem was. "I forgot my wallet in my car." He whined and the blunette still couldn't understand why it was relevant at that particularly moment until he said his next words. "Tell me you have a condom. _Please_. If you don't and I need to go to my car and get my wallet, I will, but _please_ , have one here so I don't have to."

Juvia smiled. "A girl should always be prepared. Juvia has condoms."

"Oh, thank god you are smart." He kissed her. "Where?"

"Bedroom."

"Good. Hold on." He put his hands under her thighs and got up from the couch and Juvia shrieked a surprised laugh and wrapped her legs around his waist as Gray took her to the bedroom.

**#**

The moment her back hit the mattress, Juvia's only thought was to undress Gray and have her way with him and the way he was kissing her told her it was his plan as well. She whined in frustration when he had to come off the bed but since it was so he could kick off his shoes and take off his pants, she couldn't really complain.

Once he got rid of his pants, Gray quickly returned to his position on top of Juvia, kissing her and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her legs wrapping themselves around his waist, their underwear the only thing between them. Juvia moved her hip up, grinding herself onto him to spur his actions, but Gray just kept kissing her and moving his own pelvis against her and Juvia's soft moans were muffled by Gray's lips on hers.

Feeling impatient, Juvia's hands traveled from his shoulders to his ass – very firm ass, she thought – and when she tried to pull his boxers down, Gray stopped kissing her and grabbed one of her hands and put it on the side of her body. "Not yet."

"Why not?" She asked, confused to why he was postponing getting naked.

Gray started to kiss her neck and down to her cleavage. "Because I remember saying that I would make you as crazy as you made me. Isn't it right?" His face was between her breasts, then, lips hot on her skin and he was looking straight at her. Juvia felt wetness gather in her underwear and her heart beat faster when he kissed her stomach while his hands found the edge of her panties and tugged them down. "I came up with _a lot_ of ideas."

"Oh?" Juvia raised her hips so he could pull her underwear away and he finally took them off, throwing somewhere on the floor.

Gray held one of Juvia's legs and started kissing a path from her ankle and up. "A man's imagination can go very wild." He had his lips on the side of her knees, then and Juvia was breathing so hard she should've been worried. "And mine was no different."

He was half-way kissing her inner thigh when Juvia's mind finally caught on with reality and she sat on the bed, her hands on his hair, bringing him up.

" _Wha-What are you doing?_ " She all but shrieked.

Gray frowned. "I was planning on going down on you, actually." He saw her face get even redder and he got even more confused. "Why? You don't like it?"

"I- I- This-" Juvia stuttered. "No one ever-"

Understanding finally came to Gray. "No one ever did this to you?" He asked and the blunette nodded. "Really? _Ever?_ " She covered her face with her hands. "Juvia, if you don't want me to, I can certainly think of something else to do to you. I have a pretty long list, actually. If I do and you don't like it, just tell me and I'll stop." She peeked at him through her fingers and he was calmly looking at her. "I just need you to know that I am _really good_ at it and enjoy doing this."

She felt hot all over and at an impasse; she wanted to, _really_ did, yet was feeling so shy it was ridiculous. If she were honest, she had always been curious but no one ever did and she never did. But there was Gray, not only willing but also liked to, if his words were true.

In a burst of confidence, Juvia removed her hands from her face and asked in a whisper: "You'll stop if I…?"

"Absolutely." He didn't even hesitate to answer. "You decide and I do whatever you want."

It took her a few seconds to decide, and she answered with a whisper. "Alright."

"Are you sure?" Gray asked and Juvia nodded.

She covered her face with her hands once again. "Oh, god, Juvia will die of embarrassment."

Gray grabbed her hands and moved them away from her face, leaning with her so she could lie down on the bed again and he pulled her hands over her head, their bodies touching and he kissed her slowly. "I don't understand how you are so embarrassed now. Five days ago you had your hands inside my underwear and you didn't even blink." He let go of her hands, but she didn't move them away, and he had his attention on her breasts, then.

"It's different." She informed him, sighing with his ministrations.

"How?" Gray wondered, changing to her other breast to pay it the same amount of attention he did with the other.

"Just is." It was her answer and Gray hummed in agreement.

Juvia had to bite her lower lip when she felt his hand go between her legs and touched the outer lips of her sex and she tried not to move, but when he slipped a finger inside her, her hips almost moved up and when he added another, she couldn't help it but to move so he could get in a bit deeper.

At that point Gray had stopped his ministrations on her breasts and was kissing his way down while slowly moving her fingers and stopped for a second when he reached her hipbone. Juvia's reactions must've given him the answer he needed, because the next thing Juvia knew, was that Gray had removed his fingers from her and replaced them with his mouth.

She couldn't have hold the gasp that came out of her even if she wanted to.

" _Oh._ " Juvia breathed and her hands were straight to Gray's head, grabbing his hair while his tongue explored her and Juvia could've sworn her blood had turned into fire. "Oh, god." She felt his finger slid inside her again, pumping them slowly while his mouth closed on her clit. "Gray-sama!" Juvia felt his chuckle other than heard it, but she really didn't care at the moment.

Gray moved his fingers, touching her in random places, searching for something and Juvia felt the moment he found it, since her whole body tensed with how good it felt. She didn't even realize she had closed her legs on him until he gently pulled them apart, he kissed her inner thigh and Juvia opened her eyes to look at him. "Oh, fuck." She breathed when she saw him kiss her mound again at the same time his fingers kept hitting that wonderful spot inside her. "Gr-" She tried, but just couldn't form any more words.

It was unbelievable how fast she could feel her orgasm coming, it usually took her much longer when with a partner – if at all – but Gray was making her whole body feel as if it was on fire in mere minutes and he hadn't even taken off his underwear yet.

"Touch your breasts." Gray said loud enough so she could hear and Juvia was so lost in sensation she didn't even questioned it, she let go of his hair and her hands went immediately to her breasts, pinching her nipples just when Gray sucked her clit and her body arched a bit.

She kept touching them and could feel her release coming her way, could feel her lower abdomen starting to contract. "Gray-sama." Juvia moaned, fighting to open her eyes. "I-I'm _so_ close. Don't stop."

"I won't." He told her, his movements getting faster and Juvia's head was spinning with so many sensations. "Look at me." Her eyes were heavy, but she managed to open her eyelids and her gaze met Gray's and if there was anything sexier than him looking at her with those dark eyes and lowering his lips to her clit at the same time his finger curled inside her, she had no idea what it was.

The combination of his mouth, his fingers, his eyes and even her own hands on her breasts made Juvia fall over the edge with a loud cry; her whole body tensed and arched with her release, her toes curled and she could feel Gray was still touching her, helping to bring her back while her walls contracted around his fingers.

A few moments later, she was a lump on the bed, trying to control her breathing and her heartbeats, but it was damn hard, especially when Gray was kissing his way up her body.

"You don't seem too embarrassed now." He teased her, smiling down at her while his body was above hers.

She hummed in agreement and grabbed his face to bring him down for a slow kiss, a kiss he gladly returned. "Is this how Juvia tastes?" The blunette asked, regarding the slight different taste on his lips.

"Yes." Gray told her.

"It's… interesting." She pondered and Gray chuckled. "Next time Juvia will have to taste Gray-sama. Or Gray-sama _and_ Juvia together..." Gray's eyes became so wide she was worried for a second before he rested his forehead on hers.

" _Fuck, Juvia_ , you can't say things like that." He groaned and she smiled. "And you said you were embarrassed? How would it be if you weren't? You can just switch to shy then to forward, then to blushing and then to sexy as hell. I never know what to expect."

Juvia giggled. "Good, wouldn't want for you to get bored." Gray snorted at her words but kissed her back when her lips touched his. The blunette put a hand between them and Gray raised his body from hers so she could have more access and she took the advantage to explore his stomach. It should be criminal to look that good, to have that perfect six-pack so well-defined. His muscles were hard and each contracted with her gentle touches.

Feeling more than ready to continue now that her heart didn't seem as if it would burst from her chest after he had make her come, Juvia slid her hand inside his underwear and curled it around his already hard shaft, pumping it a couple of times.

Gray stopped kissing her, but his hips moved in time with her hand. "Are you sure you want to keep going? I can take care of myself and we can sl-" He didn't finish because she had kissed him shut.

"Condoms are in the first drawer." She pointed to her bedside table and he nodded, regretfully getting off the bed. He took off his underwear and opened the drawer and Juvia took her time admiring his ass, she never thought she was an ass girl, but his looked really good. He found the box she had bought a few weeks before and opened it, taking a square foil packet from inside.

Juvia bit her lip when Gray opened the packet with his teeth, took the condom and rolled over his length. She had had a pretty good idea of what to expect when a few days before she had made him come with her hand, but she was actually seeing his shaft free for the first time and it was quite impressive. He was by no means the largest man on earth, but it would certainly be the biggest she had been with.

Once the condom was on him, Gray returned to the bed and Juvia pulled him for a kiss and brought him to stay on top of her once again and he touched between the legs once again to see if she was ready.

Juvia's hand curled around his length and guided him to her opening. They stopped kissing and their eyes locked as Gray gently pushed into her, stretching her inch by inch until he was all in.

"Oh." Gray breathed, keeping still and Juvia was glad he did, it had been a long while for her and she needed a moment. "Are you okay?"

The blunette nodded. "Just a second." She whispered and Gray nodded, resting his forehead on her shoulder, kissing the skin there while staying perfectly still. A few seconds later, Juvia was fine to keep going, so she moved her hips up and the angle made him slid a bit deeper and both of them groaned. "I'm fine now."

Gray looked at her and nodded, moving out and then in. His moan went straight to her core, it really was the most amazing sound on earth. He kissed her roughly, his hips in a steady rhythm and it seemed Gray was trying to find a good angle for her.

Juvia's hands were roaming Gray's back when he hit the amazing spot inside of her and her nails dug into his skin, letting out a startled moan. Gray stilled her hips and started to thrust her in that position so he could brush that spot every time he moved in, and Juvia wrapped her legs around his waist, taking him even deeper.

"Oh, Gray-sama." Juvia was clawing on his back, but it only seemed to spur Gray on.

"I love it when you call me that." He told her, her body arched and he had a nipple inside his mouth. "You have no idea how hot it is. And calling me that when I'm inside you… fuck." Gray's teeth closed on her breast and the delightful pain seemed to convert in wetness between her legs, much to his delight. "You feel so good, Juvia. Hot and wet and tight."

"Gray-sama." She moaned.

"Yes." He said and then he was kissing her again, wildly and she answered in kind, a hand still on his back, but the other on his hair, pulling it. Gray put a hand between them just above where they met and touched her clit and the blunette moaned into the kiss. "How close are you?" Gray panted his question once they broke the kiss.

Juvia shook her head; she never had two orgasms in such small amount of time before and even though she could feel her lower stomach boil, there was no way she would get there. "I can't." She panted and Gray frowned, looking at her in confusion. "Too soon." She explained.

"We'll see." He told her and started to rub her clit in steady strong circles that got her panting, alongside with the way his rhythm got faster, her mind was floating and there was something being build-up, but she couldn't… she wouldn't…

The moment Gray pinched her clit and his hips snapped on hers with an amazing strength, Juvia's mind turned white.

Her orgasm took her by surprise, that was for sure. So much she couldn't even muffle the scream or stop the way her nails dug on Gray's back and she felt as if each cell of her body had been lit up, while Gray thrusted three more times inside her before groaning in release.

Juvia was slowly returning to reality through the fog inside her mind and she could feel Gray's weight on top of her, his face was hidden on the crook of her neck and he was still inside her. Yet, none of it mattered because his lips kissing the side of her neck, slowly and he seemed to be smiling.

Hell, she was smiling as well. That was easily the best sex she's ever had.

"Mine too." He answered, voice rough and only then she realized she had spoken out loud. It took Gray a few seconds, but he finally gathered enough strength to pick himself up from her and exit her – Juvia felt the loss of him right away. He rolled to lie next to her and removed the condom, tying it up and throwing it on a garbage can Juvia kept by the bed and lied on the bed again, bringing her close to him, their chests touching as they were facing each other.

Juvia looked up and smiled sleepily. "We are very good at this."

"We are." Gray chuckled and put a hand on her waist, bringing her closer for a sweet kiss. "We definitely have to do this more often."

"Oh, we are." Juvia guaranteed. "But not now, Juvia needs to rest. You spent her." She teased and Gray smiled.

"Good." He kissed her and groaned a few seconds later when there was a loud chirp. "Damn it, my phone's in the living room." He sighed. "Give me second." Juvia nodded and Gray got up from the bed not even bothering to cover himself.

Juvia sat on the bed and pulled the covers so she could get under them and took a glance at her reflection on the small mirror she had on her bedside table. Her hair was a mess, her cheeks were rosy, her lips were swollen and red and she was sure she would have a hickey on her breast the next day, but damn it she looked happy.

"Just stupid Natsu asking the numbers of the seats for the game." Gray said, returning to the bedroom and closing the door behind him. He was typing an answer and walked slowly towards the bed until he pressed send and looked up to her. "You got the day off tomorrow, right?"

"No, Juvia changed shifts with another girl, so she'll work tomorrow afternoon instead." Gray put his phone on her bedside table (since she only had one) and walked back to his side of the bed. "Juvia's day off is the day after tomorrow, so we can stay up all night celebrating after the game." Gray was lying next to her, then and she had a hand on his chest.

"Interesting."

Juvia rested her head on his shoulder. "This was supposed to happen tomorrow, actually."

"Really? What changed your mind?" Gray asked with curiosity.

"Well, Hockey is a very rough and dangerous game, who knew if you could perform after such a- ahh!" She squealed when Gray rolled on top of her, looking very affronted, but his eyes were sparkling with mischief.

"I'll show you performance." He told her and Juvia laughed out loud when he kissed her collarbone.

**#**

Gray was having the most pleasant sleep he had in months when it was interrupted by the annoying sound of his ringtone. He didn't want to open his eyes, not when she could feel Juvia's naked and hot body pressing its back on his front, and his arms was wrapped around her waist.

He felt her stir and since she was closest to the devilish device, he muttered: "Answer the phone."

"Okay." Gray heard her answer and he was almost sure she was still half-asleep. He closed his eyes, and waited. "Hello?" A pause. "Uh, yes." Another pause. "He is here, just a moment." Juvia turned a bit on his arms. "Gray-sama, it's for you."

The person from the other side of the line probably heard his annoyed groan, but he grabbed his phone and lied on his back, already missing Juvia's body. "What?"

" _Well, good morning to you too, son."_ His father's voice came from the other side of the line and Gray's eyes widened.

"Dad?" Gray sat on the bed and Juvia was frowning when he looked over his shoulder.

" _Yeap."_ He popped the 'p'. _"So… I guess there's a reason you are not in your apartment, huh?"_

"Uh…" His brain wasn't fully functional yet.

" _Did he answer?"_ It was his mother's voice and Gray wanted for a hole to open and swallow him because there was no way his father would let Juvia answering his phone, slide. He was clearly put on speaker phone so his father could humiliate him more, he guessed.

" _Oh no, it was_ a girl _who answered, and then gave the phone to him."_ His father's smug voice was so annoying it hurt Gray. " _At 7 a.m._ " Anyone would be able to get his meaning by his tone.

His mother, Ur, hummed. " _That's why he's not here, huh? What do you think, Silver? Girlfriend or ONS?_ "

"What is an ONS?" Gray asked, puzzled.

" _One-night stand_." His mother answered.

"Urgh, no. Don't ever say that again."

" _The usual bet? I say it's ONS._ "

" _Nah, girlfriend for me._ " Silver said and Gray rolled his eyes. " _So, Gray, where exactly are you in this fine morning? We stopped by because we wanted to invite you for breakfast since we are here to watch the game later today."_

"So you broke into my apartment?" Gray passed a hand through his hair and Juvia was sitting too, a hand on his back.

" _Don't be such a drama queen. We have a key, Gray, for emergencies."_ Gray could practically see his father's eye roll. _"And we made a lot of noise, so if you and your lady friend had been here, you would've heard us."_

" _Besides, what if you weren't answering the door because you were hurt in here?"_ It was his mother's question that time.

"Sure, mom." Gray rolled his eyes.

" _You didn't answer the question… where are you?"_ His father

"I'm uh…" Oh, what the hell. They already knew Gray hadn't spent the night home and it was a woman who had answered hit phone; there was nothing to hide, really. "I'm at my girlfriend's place, actually."

" _Ha! I knew it! Honey, it's a girlfriend! I won the bet."_ Silver barked a laugh.

" _What? And you didn't tell us?"_ Ur asked. _"You should've told us! We are your parents."_

" _You didn't even update your relationship status on Facebook."_ His father said.

"Because I didn't want you two to bug me when it was too soon into this and we were figuring things out." Gray lied down on the bed and Juvia did the same, he put his arm underneath her head and Juvia stayed quiet. "And I _really_ shouldn't have taught you how to use Facebook."

" _So, now that we know you have a girlfriend and is clearly not running to meet us here, can we have a name at least?"_ Silver asked.

"Her name?" Gray looked down to Juvia, who had her head on his shoulder and was looking up at him. He mouthed _'Can I…?'_ and her answer was a nod and her cheeks got pink. "Juvia. Her name is Juvia."

"Uh huh." Silver said and Gray could hear a chair being dragged and then buttons being pressed.

"Dad? What are you doing? Are you using my computer?"

" _I just want to see this mystery girl."_ Silver told him.

"Invasion of privacy, much?" Gray groaned and Juvia giggled.

" _Hey, it's not I'm looking at your browser history, kid, just want to see her Facebook page. I have no interest to know what kind of porn you are into."_

"I don't-"

" _I just want to put a face on the name-oh, got her!"_ Silver said and then, louder. _"Honey, found Gray's girl! He got himself a pretty one."_

" _Where?"_ His mother's voice got closer. _"I swear, Gray never learned how to put clothes on the dirty laundry basket. Oh, that's her?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Nice job, kid."_ Ur's voice was appreciative and she whistled. _"Scroll down, Silver. Down, down. Do_ not _stop on that kitten video Silver, or I swear I'll hit you."_

"What are they doing?" Juvia whispered and Gray put a hand over the microphone.

"Looking at your Facebook page." He told her and Juvia's eyebrows shot up. "They are terribly invasive, I'm sorry." Juvia nodded and smiled.

" _She's an Ice Skater!"_ Silver sounded impressed. _"And a good one too, look at the medals."_

" _I already like her."_ Ur said. _"When are you introducing us? Can she join us for lunch?"_

"Oh, hell no." Gray told her and snorted. "You two are going nowhere near her until you are no longer waiting to embarrass me and wanting to ask her all sorts of questions."

" _It's our right as parents."_

"And it's my right to tell you that you'll meet her when we agree it's the time to meet her." Gray remarked.

" _Remember when we asked something of him and his answer was 'yes, dad' or 'sure, mom'?"_ Silver asked with a sigh. _"Good old days."_

" _Fine, do what you want."_ Ur finally said. " _But we are meeting you for lunch and you'll answer all of our questions."_

"I'll answer things that are not invasive. It's the best deal you'll get."

" _Alright."_ Ur agreed. _"How about we meet at noon? I'll text you the restaurant's address. Your brother will join us, of course."_

"Sure, mom." Gray agreed.

" _See you later, kid. Love ya."_ His mother said.

" _I have lots of questions as well."_ Silver told him. _"See you at lunch, Gray."_

"Yeah, yeah. Bye, love you too." He finished the talk and Juvia was giggling. "What?"

"You looked so cute talking to your parents."

"Shut up." Gray felt his cheeks get warmer. "Should we sleep a bit more? It's way too early. We sleep, then morning sex and then food."

"Got all figured out, huh?" Juvia giggled and grabbed his phone, placing it back on the bedside table and returned to her position next to him. "They seem nice."

Gray snorted. "Trust me, you won't think that when they are asking everything about your life."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope their first time and then Ur and Silver were okay! :)


	9. Oh, Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have Papa Silver and Mama Ur plus Lyon. :3

Gray parked his car close to the restaurant he would meet his parents and he took a peek of himself at the rearview mirror. Sure, they knew he had spent the night away but he didn’t _have_ to appear in front of his parents as if he had had a wonderful time having sex with his girlfriend.

Which he _did_ , actually.

A very male pride spread through him with just the thought of Juvia’s reactions to him the night before and just a couple of hours after he talked on the phone with his parents. She had woken up before him, put his shirt on and was in the kitchen preparing their breakfast when Gray hugged her from behind and kissed her neck, saying good morning. Juvia had giggled and told him she needed to finish but Gray ignored her and dragged her back to the bedroom, so he could have his way with her. After breakfast, they had shared a shower and Gray spent a long time soaping her body.

It had been a _very good_ morning.

She packed a bag so she could stay that night in his apartment – Gray wasn’t going to let her come back to her place, not when he knew she had the next day off and they could enjoy themselves. Gray put the backpack in his car and drove her to the diner. Juvia kissed him good-bye and told him she would see him after the game.

Looking at the rearview mirror, Gray noticed he was still smiling like some lovesick puppy and if he didn’t wipe it off, his father would have a field day with it.

He finally stepped out of the car and went to the restaurant. Locating his parents wasn’t hard, his father had his arm around his mother’s shoulder and he was whispering something to her and she laughed with whatever it was. Gray groaned and stepped close to their table.

“Can you two stop being gross, please?” He said and the couple looked his way. Silver and Gray looked so much alike it was uncanny, both with dark hair, same shapes of eyes and built; Ur, though, was slightly smaller than her husband, had short dark hair and even though she looked fragile sometimes, she was the most kick-ass woman Gray knew.

“Can’t do it, son.” His father laughed. “I have to make sure people know she’s taken, otherwise she might get better suitors and leave me.”

“It’s been fifteen years, Silver. I think you are stuck with me now.” Ur pushed Silver away when he tried to kiss her and got up to hug Gray. “How on earth are you still getting taller?”

“Maybe you are getting smaller.” Gray told her and Ur slapped his shoulder, making Gray laugh. He kissed her cheek. “Hi, mom.”

“Hey, kid.” Ur said and then sat back down while her husband got up and hugged their son.

“How’s your day, Gray?” Silver asked, his tone filled with innuendo and Gray rolled his eyes with how predicable it was. “Anything interesting happened?”

“You, shut it.” Gray said and his father was smiling when he let go.

“Come on, Gray. A father worries.” Silver winked and sat back down while Gray sat across from them. “So, tell us about this girlfriend of yours.”

Gray grabbed the menu and started to look up the options. “Haven’t you learned everything from snooping her Facebook page?”

“We want to know what she’s like, there isn’t too many personal stuff there.” Ur pointed out. “We just need to know if she’s a good girl.”

He rolled his eyes, but kept staring at the menu. “You know I’m an adult, right?”

“You will always be that snotty kid I met, no matter your age.” Ur told him. “I just want to make sure you are not getting hurt.”

With a sigh, he put the menu away to look at their parents. “She is nice, she has a scholarship and works at a diner close to the university at night. Her dream, since she was a kid, is to become a marine biologist and by getting the ice skating scholarship, she will be able to. She likes to bake and gets really excited talking about fish.” He took a moment. “I’ve watched her punch a guy double her size on the nose after he touched her without permission, so she can take care of herself. And she was the one to ask me out because I was afraid to do something about it.” Gray stared at his parents. “There, that’s who she is. There’s nothing to worry.”

His parents were stunned with his revelations about Juvia, that was clear. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You caught me in a good mood and I talked about my girlfriend. No need to look at me as if I just gave you nuclear codes.”

Silver was the first to speak. “Well, she must be something.”

“Sure sounds like she is.” Ur raised an eyebrow. “Did she really punch a guy?”

“Yeap.” Gray popped the ‘p’ and his attention returned to the menu. “We were just friends at the time and when I saw it happen, I actually got up and was about to try a big rescue.” He snorted. “Turns out I didn’t have to worry, she broke the guy’s nose.”

His father laughed. “Well, Fullbusters need strong women so they can hit us on our heads when we need. That’s how I always chose my women anyway.”

“Urgh, Silver. Don’t you call me ‘your woman’, I’m not a possession: I’m your _wife_.” Ur told her husband. “Jeez, I don’t even know why I married your sorry ass.”

“Sorry, dear.” Silver looked at his wife as angelic as he could and she rolled his eyes at him, trying to hide a smile. Gray glanced at his father and he winked, having planned to riled up his wife, making Gray snicker.

“So, when you are introducing her to us?” Ur asked. “I really would like to meet her.”

“We’ve been dating for a little over a month, it’s too soon.” He answered easily. “But I’ll let you know when we are ready.” Gray snorted. “Besides, I introduce her too soon and you two will scare her away by being crazy.”

“Oh, smart.” Silver nodded. “You will let her get attached to you so she won’t mind the crazy in-laws. Very smart.”

“I am not a crazy in-law.” Ur snorted and looked at her husband. “You are, though.”

“Agreed.” Silver shrugged and looked in his son’s direction. “What can I say? I’m very invested in my children’s love lives.”

“Yeah, stop investing on mine; I’m more than fine. Your two other children are single, invest on _theirs_.” Gray looked in Ur’s direction. “Can you tell him to knock it off?”

“I do, he never listens.” She shrugged.

“You two love it.” Silver snorted and then his gaze focused on something behind Gray. “Oh, here comes the other one.” Gray looked over his shoulder and saw his brother approaching the table. His white hair stylized to the side as always, he was smiling and his dark eyes sparkled in happiness to see his family. “Hello, son.”

“Hey.” Lyon smiled and opened his arms to receive a hug from Ur, who got up to embrace her son. “Mom.”

“I swear, you two are still growing.” Ur said and kissed Lyon’s cheek; she released him and it was Silver’s turn to have a hug. “How was the trip here?”

“Fine, the team is actually visiting some places until it’s time to head for the game and since I’ve been here before I was able to come.” Lyon said and then sat next to Gray, offering his fist, to which Gray bumped with his own fist. “By the way, we are crushing you tonight.”

“In your dreams, I’m sure you will.” Gray snorted. “I know it’s your last game, but I won’t make it any easier for you.”

“You won’t have to.” Lyon smiled.

“For the record, we don’t care who wins.” Ur said, pointedly. “You two were great all season.”

“True.” Silver nodded, looking very solemn. “Just remember: whoever loses, gets written off the will.” He hissed in pain when Ur slapped his arm. “Ouch! Don’t do _that_!”

“I have to, if you are going to say crap like that.”

“ _Please_.” Silver rolled his eyes. “We’ve raised them right, they know we are proud of them either way and we don’t care who wins or loses, they are both great.”

“It’s fine, mom.” Lyon chuckled.

“Yeah, let’s eat, I’m starving.” Gray picked up the menu again.

“I bet you are.” Silver smirked and Gray groaned. Lyon frowned and turned to his brother to try to understand what that was about, but it was Silver who answered. “Your brother has a new girlfriend and when your mother and I called this morning, guess who answered?” Silver wiggled his eyebrows in a stupid way and Gray wanted to punch him.

“Oh, _really_?” Lyon looked at his brother with curiosity. “I’m hurt you didn’t tell me.”

“He didn’t tell anyone.” Ur said. “He said something like not wanting to scare her off because of us.”

Lyon laughed. “Yeah, you two can be… overwhelming.”

“That’s an understatement.” Gray snorted. “Now can we _please_ drop the subject of my girlfriend?”

“I’ll want more details later. I think I’ve missed the beginning of this.” Lyon told his brother.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Gray waved his hand in dismissal. “Whatever. Let’s order.”

**#**

After lunch, Gray went home to leave Juvia’s bag and get ready for the game. He had agreed with his teammates to get there early so they could go over their game plan again. Once he was done, he sent a text to Juvia, saying he was heading to the rink. She answered saying she still had two more hours to go before she could leave, but she’d be there on time and she wished him luck again.

Once he had arrived, he went straight to the locker room and some members of his team were there and they started to go over their play and before he knew, it was time for the game to start.

After reassuring his team they were already winners to making that far, and they needed to play like always and be great.

Entering the rink while people cheered all around him always gave him quite a rush while skating around. His heart was beating so fast, he was actually nervous.

Gray watched his brother and his team skate and their black and white jerseys clashed with Gray’s blue and yellow. It was the day they would finally know who was the best.

As captains, both skated towards the middle of the rink, the ref in tow and they shook hands.

“Good luck, little brother.” Lyon smirked that I’m-older-than-you-and-you-are-just-a-kid smirk that always got on Gray’s nerves while growing up.

“Oh, you can keep the luck. You’re going to need it.” Gray winked.

Lyon chuckled. “Keep dreaming.”

“The next family dinner will be super-awkward, won’t it?” Gray snorted.

“Oh yes.” Lyon agreed. “Now let’s do this.”

And so the game began.

**#**

Gray felt another teammate pat him on the back while they headed outside the locker rooms, telling him it was a good game and they had deserved the win. Gray thanked him and watched as he ran the exit; they had a party to go to so they could celebrate.

It had been a tight game but in the end, Magnolia U had won by a tiny margin. Victory was theirs.

After the game was over, Gray skated towards his brother and they had hugged; Lyon congratulated him for the good game and told him if he were to lose, better to someone he knew was damn good. Gray and Lyon had bumped their helmets, like they did back home, and Gray skated back to his team, his blood boiling with the adrenalin of winning while the cheers coming from the bleachers kept his heart beating like crazy.

The moment he stepped on the hall, he was received with a round of claps and cheers. He looked up and smiled with how excited people were with his winning. After thanking them and walking between some people, he finally located the group he was looking for.

His friends were holding signs of support and they all tried to hug him at the same time, and Gray laughed while receiving pats on the back.

“Let him breathe.” Erza commanded and they stepped aside. “Congratulations, Gray.”

“Thanks.” Gray smiled and he finally saw Juvia trying to get past their friends and he threw his bag on the floor just in time, since she jumped on him, her arms around his neck and he managed to put his hands under her thighs and she wrapped her legs around his waist and gave him a kiss that made his knees go weak as people cheered them on. “I guess you liked the game.” He asked between pecks on the lips, not minding the audience.

“You were _amazing_.” Juvia breathed, going in for another kiss.

“Yeah?”

“Oh yes.” She nodded. “Juvia got worried you got hurt. Are you hurt?” She looked down to herself and made the move to get away from him, but Gray didn’t let her. “Juvia just jumped you and you were thrown-” The blunette was interrupted by a kiss.

“I’m fine.” He told her and she nodded, kissing him again and she stopped when they heard catcalling around them.

“Gray-sama?” Juvia whispered and Gray hummed in acknowledge. “Everyone is staring.”

Gray blinked and glanced to his side; she was right people were looking at them. “Oh.” He slowly put her on the floor, but she didn’t step away from him, just put her arms around his waist and hid her face on his chest, embarrassed.

“Get a room.” Cana said with a snort and Gray put his arm around Juvia’s shoulder.

“We will, later.” He told his friend, who looked surprised with his answer.

Cana crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, well, well… Look who thinks is a grown-up now.”

“I just won a championship against my brother. Can I celebrate the way I want to?” Gray asked the brunette.

“And you want to celebrate by dragging your girlfriend to a room and having sex with her?”

“After going to a party with my team and friends? Yes.” He nodded.

“Well, then.” Cana smiled. “Let’s get this party started.”

**#**

“This is one of the best days of my life.” Gray told Juvia as they got off the elevator of his building and walked towards his apartment. Juvia chuckled and showed him his keys and he pointed out which one was the right one and she unlocked the door. Deciding he deserved to get a proper celebration, he asked if Juvia would mind driving so he could drink. After she agreed, he got some beers and had a great time with their friends.

“Juvia’s happy you are happy.” Juvia said, looking over her shoulder and Gray stepped closer to her, his arm going to her stomach to pull her closer and his lips on the side of her neck. “Gray-sama…”

“You wore this on purpose, right?” He asked, kissing her jaw while taking a few steps inside the apartment so he could close the door.

“Hm?”

Once they were inside, Gray closed the door with his foot, much more interested in his girlfriend. “Your jersey.” He told her. “It has my name on it.”

“Oh, _that_.” Juvia giggled. During the first game she went, Juvia had bought a random jersey, just to fit in, but since she was dating the main star of the team, she thought it was appropriate for her to get one with his name. It appeared he approved. “Juvia did buy on purpose.” He hummed in agreement, his hand slipping underneath her shirt to touch the skin of her abdomen. “Juvia takes you like it.”

“One day you’ll just wear that for me and I’ll show you how much I liked it.” Gray whispered and she shuddered. His almost perfect day was very close to being perfect, until she pushed his hand and stepped away from him. “Juvia…” He all but whined.

The blunette chuckled. “Go take a shower, the one you took in the locker room was just so you are not all gross.”

Knowing she was right, Gray sighed and nodded. “Fine.” He stretched his body. “Your stuff is in my bedroom.”

“Alright.” Juvia gave him a quick peck on the lips and walked towards the bedroom and Gray fished his phone from his pants’ pocket and noticed he had new texts.

**From: Dad**

**22:01:** _Great game, son! Congratulations! Your mother and I are very proud of you and your brother, both of you played an amazing game. We were going to talk to you after, but we saw you with your friends and your girl and didn’t want to intrude; you made it clear we’d get to meet her when you were ready._

 **22:02:** _By the way, your mother and I really liked the way she made you smile; they were quite rare coming from you and we are happy it’s back. She’s cute too. That’s my boy!_

 **22:03:** _Oh, your brother is staying until the day after tomorrow, you should meet while he’s here. Anyway, just wanted to congratulate you!_

 **22:03:** _Your mother says we’ll leave very early tomorrow and you better go home for the weekend next week. I would go, she’s mad you missed the last one and you know how scary she can be._

 **22:05:** _Apparently I wasn’t supposed to say she’s scary because she is really scary right now._

**From: Mom**

**22:07:** _Never mind your father. We are proud of you, we love you and we hope you enjoy yourself tonight. See you next weekend, kid._

Gray snorted at his parents’ banter even by text and answered quickly, knowing they were probably already asleep.

He went to his bedroom and saw Juvia choosing what she was going to wear; she smiled his way while he stepped inside the bathroom. Gray shed his clothes off, throwing them on a corner and got in the shower, moaning with the hot water that touched his skin; he wasn’t really hurt, but he would be sore the next day.

After he was almost done with his shower and ready to step out, the shower door slid open and he watched from over his shoulder as his girlfriend, in all her naked glory, got inside, closing the door behind her. Gray turned to face her and she wrapped her arms around his chest, the hot water falling on her.

“Juvia was thinking if she should’ve or not stepped in here with you.” She told him, her hands caressing his back while he just looked at her, wishing it wasn’t a dream. “She decided to try. Is it okay for Juvia to be here?” Unable to find his voice, Gray just nodded. “Good.”

Her hands traveled from his back to his ass, then to his strong thighs and Gray could sense his blood going south. “You looked so amazing tonight.” Juvia commented and one of her hands found its way from his ass to between his legs, where he could feel himself harden. “Juvia was really impressed.”

“Yes?” Gray squeaked when she curled her hands around him, stroking him lightly.

“Yes.” Juvia pushed him towards the wall so the water fell on her back. She started to kiss his chest and down, eyes still on him. “You worked _so hard_ tonight.”

“I did.” He nodded. “I won and everything.”

Juvia giggled, her hand still moving on him and her lips finally reached his bellybutton. “You won, yes.” She kissed his navel and Gray was still speechless, just watching as she went to her knees. “Juvia thought that to show how much she enjoyed the game, she could show her Gray-sama how _good_ she is too. In another thing entirely, of course.” His loud moan when her thumb circled the head of his shaft, made her smile like a Cheshire cat. “Juvia did say last night she needed to taste Gray-sama.”

“Oh, holy fucking shit.” It was all his brilliant brain was capable of producing when she bit his navel, as if to make sure his attention was still on her. His heart was beating even faster than when he was in the game; she was a fucking vision on her knees and talking innuendo, her blue eyes sparkling in desire. “I take it back.”

“Hm?” She asked.

“This is not one of the best days of my life; it’s _the_ best day of my life.”

Juvia’s smile made his heart stop for a moment. She got up really quick to give him a peck on his lips before kneeling in front of him once again, her lips surrounded his shaft and Gray’s mind focused only on her.

**#**

Morning came too soon for Gray, especially because his phone was ringing and he really needed to answer that before it woke Juvia up – she was lying on her stomach, looking away from him and he had his arm crossed over her back.

He got the phone and silenced the call to not disturb her and noticed it was his brother calling. Gray glanced to Juvia and even if he regretted leaving bed, he didn’t want to wake her so he got up, grabbed a towel and put it around his waist.

“Hello?” Gray answered the phone.

 _“Hello, little brother.”_ Lyon’s voice was oddly cheerful. _“Sleeping until this late hour, I see.”_

“It’s only 9.” Gray rolled his eyes.

 _“Sure, whatever.”_ His brother said. _“So, I just had breakfast with mom and dad before they took the train and they told me to call you so we could have lunch or something. My team is touristing around the town.”_

Gray looked to the door of his bedroom, thinking about the sleeping woman there. “Uh… I really can’t. I’m with my girlfriend.”

 _“Ah, the mysterious girlfriend.”_ Lyon chuckled. _“I supposed you spent the night celebrating victory?”_

No reason denying it, so he shrugged. “Pretty much.”

 _“I hate you.”_ Lyon groaned in annoyance. _“You won the game, you got laid… You really shouldn’t have everything, it’s unfair to the mere humans like me.”_

Gray laughed. “Sorry?”

 _“Whatever.”_ Lyon said. _“You can’t make plans for another day?”_

Gray snorted. “I’m sorry, but I am not going to trade my day off  – which I might add is _very_ rare – with my very naked and amazing girlfriend, who also have a day off, to spend it with your sorry ass.”

_“Yeah, I wouldn’t either.”_

“How about this?” Gray asked. “We are having dinner with our friends tonight. You know, the whole gang, and you haven’t seen them in a while. That way everyone gets to see you and you’ll be around more people.”

Lyon seemed to be thinking for a moment. _“Sounds good. That way I can spend the day with the team, showing them around. Text me the address later.”_

“Okay. Show up around seven or something.”

 _“Are you going to introduce me to this girl of yours?”_ Lyon’s tone was of teasing, but Gray could see he was also curious about Juvia.

“Sure.” He shrugged. “As long as you promise not to go weirdo about it and don’t tell mom and dad otherwise the next weekend I’ll get grilled to introduce you and not them.”

 _“Deal.”_ Lyon agreed. _“See you later, then.”_

“Yeah.” Gray said and ended the call. Even though he wanted to go back to bed right away, he went to get a glass of water and a muscular relaxant, since he felt aches all over his body.

It wasn’t just the game, but also having had a couple of rounds of amazing sex with his girlfriends. Then, he still had been pumped with adrenalin and he had been on her the moment he was finished recovering from her having her mouth around him in the shower.

He had been very driven the night before, almost rough but by the way she asked for him not to stop, he was more than glad to fulfill her wishes. Gray smirked; she had matched his enthusiasm with every thrust, every bite and kiss.

Even so, he would try to get gentler during the day because one thing was certain, Gray wasn’t going to let her leave; only god knew when they would have another opportunity to just laze around all day, with no work nor school.

After he took his medicine, Gray walked back to his room already planning what they would do once they were both up.

**#**

The diner was very loud, mostly because of the large group chatting happily. They were catching up with each other’s lives and whenever they got together, they tended to be very loud. Juvia even managed to get Gajeel to go.

Juvia was seated by his side, his arm resting on the back of her chair while she had a hand on his thigh without even noticing and she laughed at something Natsu said, making Gray’s stomach get butterflies.

After spending the whole day locked away in his apartment, Gray felt as if that was as much as a good day as the one before that. Once they were up, Gray cooked them breakfast and declared they weren’t leaving the apartment until it was time to get to the diner. Plus, his new rule about not wearing clothes on lazy days had made it very interesting.

She had complained about it, but he told her it was his house, his rules. Grudgingly she agreed.

The best idea he ever had, right after his plan of christening every room in his apartment. They hadn’t yet, but it was a plan in motion. Gray like especially how the afternoon had ended: on the couch. Juvia on top of him while he gently caressed her back as they watched a documentary about whales and Juvia blurted out interesting facts.

His mind returned to the present when Juvia told him she was going to the bathroom with Lucy and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

A minute later, Gray got up and went to the counter to ask for a milkshake when he felt someone pat on his back and he immediately knew who it was.

“Don’t let your guard down.” Lyon told him and Gray rolled his eyes.

“You know, whenever I start to feel homesick I just remember having to tolerate you all the time and suddenly I’m not anymore.”

“Ha ha.” Lyon rolled his eyes. “What are you ordering?”

“Milkshake. This place has one of the best.” Gray told his brother.

The white haired man nodded. “I’ll get one too.” He signalized the waitress and made his request. Once they were alone again, he turned to Gray. “So, where’s this girl of yours? I had a look on your table and I know everyone there. Unless you are dating one of the girls there, I haven’t located her.”

“She went to the bathroom.” Gray said. “Remember not to tell mom and dad.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I-” Lyon glanced somewhere over Gray’s shoulder and his eyes widened in surprise. “It can’t be.” Gray frowned as his brother’s face became redder. “How do I look?”

“What?”

Lyon was trying to straighten his clothes and even passed his hand though his hair. “Do you see the girl with blue hair?” Lyon raised his chin motioning Gray to look that way; the only woman with blue hair was Juvia, beautiful as always;

“I do.” Gray said, confused. “Lyon, that’s-”

“She’s an ice skater and a _very_ good one. You wouldn’t believe the amount of medals she has.” Lyon told his brother. “I’ve been following her career for the past two years and… oh, god, she’s _really here_ within my reach.” He laughed and Gray noticed he was genuinely being a fanboy. “I’ve had a crush on her from the moment I saw her. In her interviews, she seems so nice and when she’s skating… oh, that’s pure _beauty_.”

 _Oh, boy_. Gray thought.

“Lyon-”

Noticing his brother’s reaction, Lyon waved him off. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like figure skating, it’s my guilty pleasure, big deal.” He rolled his eyes. “I knew she had transferred from her University and came here, but I never thought I would actually _see_ her this close!”

“She’s talking to Lucy!” Lyon couldn’t contain his excitement. “They know each other! I’ll see if Lucy can introduce her to me. Should I ask her for a picture? Do _you_ know her?” His eyes widened in horror a moment later and he looked to the floor. “Shit, she’s coming this way. Oh my god she saw me staring at her. She’s coming this way! Is it because I was staring? Shit, shit, _shit_.” He panicked. “Seriously, man, do I look good?”

Gray was spared to answer when he felt a hand on his back and then Juvia was by his side, smiling to him and then to Lyon. “Hello.”

“Hi.” Lyon’s cheeks became red and he was very much starstrucked. 

“Erm, Lyon.” Gray said to get his brother’s attention. “This is my girlfriend, Juvia.” The older man’s eyes went wide with the revelation. “Juvia, this is my brother, Lyon.”

“Nice to meet you.” The blunette offered a hand and Lyon still looked shocked.

Oh, boy indeed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> l hope you enjoyed Silver and Ur! I tried to made them really sassy; they really seem that way on canon. :3 And there we go: Lyon’s here and he’s a Juvia fanboy! lol


	10. Ghosts

Gray had his arm around Juvia’s waist as she talked to his brother, excited about her finals in two weeks. Since he didn’t know much about the moves they were discussing, he decided to stay quiet and pay attention at how they were acting.

After the introduction, Juvia had been her lovely self, trying to make Lyon feel less awkward once they explained he was a fan of her and couldn’t believe she was there. She had blushed, thanked his brother and told him they were about to order and they should return to the booth. Gray asked for a moment to talk to his brother and Juvia nodded, going to the booth to wait for them.

“What the fuck, Gray?” Lyon hissed. “I start to pour my heart out and you didn’t stop me!”

“Well, _excuse me_ if I had no idea you were about to tell me you have a crush on _my girlfriend_!” Gray hissed back.

“I didn’t _know_ she was your girlfriend!”

“And I didn’t know you had a crush on her.” Gray pointed out and Lyon groaned.

“This is so fucked up.”

“Yeah, a little bit.” Gray put a hand on the bridge of his nose. “Let’s go, otherwise she’ll suspect something is wrong.” He took a step before he felt his brother’s hand on his forearm and when he looked up, Lyon’s face was as red as it could be.

“Don’t… don’t tell her what I said.”

“Trust me, I don’t want for her to know about this clusterfuck.” Gray snorted. “Come on, we’ll talk about this later.”

Lyon sat across of them and they had chatted. It was clear his brother was in love by the way he listened every single word Juvia spoke, eyes sparkling and soft. Gray could feel an ugly feeling inside his chest growing more and more.

He wasn’t a jealous man, never were. Even after Daphne, he hadn’t felt jealous since he started dating Juvia. One might think he’d be crazy with it after being cheated on, but oddly he felt confident; she was one of the prettiest women he knew and Gray was aware people looked. As long no one touched or said anything improper, he was fine.

Until his brother.

They never even liked the same types of women before: whenever Gray was into a blonde girl, Lyon was into a red-haired. If Lyon liked quiet girls, Gray liked the sassy ones. Their crushes never clashed, it was something Gray _never_ thought could happen.

Perhaps it was their silly sibling competition, but all Gray wanted was to either pull Juvia away from Lyon’s sight or just make-out in front of him so hard his brother knew she was taken.

Have not decided what was the best course of action, Gray sulked. He knew it wasn’t very mature, but it was what happened.

Lyon excused himself to go to the bathroom and the moment he was out of earshot, Juvia turned his way. She had a frown on her face and she put a hand on his cheek.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” He looked away and it made her hand slip away from his face.

They stayed in silence for a few moments. “You seemed in a good mood when we left your apartment. Did… uh, did Juvia do anything wrong?”

Gray returned his gaze at her and saw she had moved a little farther away from him, looking down in embarrassment and he wanted to kick himself for making her doubt herself.

“No. _Shit_ , Juvia.” He put his arm around her shoulder and brought her back. “I’m sorry, I’m just being an asshole.” She looked up, and Gray could see doubt in her eyes. Sighing, he decided to tell her the truth, as much as he hated to admit, but he wouldn’t mention Lyon’s confession, of course. “I’m jealous.”

Juvia frowned. “Jealous?”

“You and Lyon have been talking about your performances for the past hour. He can discuss it with you because he _knows_ what he’s talking about. Do you know what I know about figure skating? That you look amazing while doing it. That’s it.” He told her. “And you look so happy to have someone to talk about it with. I can’t do that, not like Lyon can.”

“Gray-sama.” Juvia looked surprised. She’d never guess Gray would get jealous of his own brother, much less because of something like that. “Juvia doesn’t expect you to know about figure skating. You didn’t know it when we met and Juvia still fell in love with you.” She told him. “Juvia knows nothing about architecture. Does it matter to you?” Gray frowned and shook his head. “Well, then, why would it matter to me if you don’t know about skating and fish?” She shrugged. “It goes both ways. Juvia’s learning about hockey as she gets more in contact with it.”

“You _are_ learning.”

“Yes, and so are you.” Juvia smiled and Gray’s stomach filled with the annoying butterflies people spoke so much about. “You know what’s a layback-spin.”

“With catch-foot.” He added pointedly and Juvia giggled.

“See? You know more than you think.” She kissed his lips and Gray sighed in contentment, feeling slightly better. “Besides, Juvia has zero intention of letting you go, no matter how much of an expert the next guy is.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m not turning into an expert anytime soon.” He told her and Juvia laughed out loud before pulling him back for another kiss, deeper that time and made him want to go home at that very second so he could have his way with her. Later. Later, he definitely would. “I’m probably going to sulk a bit more but now it’s because we are not alone so I can show you how much I know in another thing entirely.”

Her red and embarrassed face made him smirk.

“Okay.” She nodded and looked away, but Gray notice her cheeks get redder and she grabbed his hand under the table. “Juvia has to leave early, though, she has practice early.”

“Fine.” Gray nodded. “I’m about to have free mornings since the season is over.”

“You are going to sleep-in late, aren’t you?” Juvia giggled.

“Since I am a normal guy, yes I will.” He shrugged. “You are welcome to sleep-in late with me anytime.”

“Juvia will see what she can do when her own practices are over.” She kissed his cheek and straightened herself when she saw Lyon coming their way, but didn’t let go of his hand. That small gesture prevented him from sulking too much when his brother and his girlfriend started to talk again.

**#**

“It was very nice to meet you, Lyon-san.” Juvia gave the white-haired man a quick hug. “You should come to Magnolia more often.”

“Now that I know you are here, trust me, I will, Juvia-chan.” He told her, gently and the suffix annoyed Gray more than it should have. “I will try to see your finals.”

“That would be nice. If you do, call me so Juvia can find you some nice seats.” Gray handed her the dark blue coat that was clearly her favorite and she put it on. “And go check that shoulder! You said it’s still sore and you haven’t seen a doctor.”

“It warms my heart you are worried about me, Juvia-chan.” Lyon grabbed her hand and kissed, offering her a wink, to which she laughed. “I’ll go to the doctor as soon as I get home.”

“See that you do.” He let go of her hand and Juvia turned to Gray, who was still sulking a little but at least she knew he wasn’t mad at her. “Should we leave?”

Gray fished his keys from his pocket and gave her. “Could you wait in the car just for a moment? I need to speak with Lyon.”

“Alright.” Juvia took the keys and after a wave in Lyon’s direction, she exited the diner and didn’t hear him say ‘ _Good night, my darling_ ’, but Gray did and his face became red.

Lyon kept looking at her through the glass and he sighed. “Once I knew she was your girlfriend, I hoped that she wasn’t amazing and I was wrong…” He kept his gaze on her, outside until she got in Gray’s car; only then he looked at his brother. “But she is, isn’t she? Nice like that.”

“Yeah. That’s pretty much her default setting.” Gray scratched the back of his head. “What you saw tonight is who she is.”

“I was afraid of that.” Lyon sighed. “Was she anyone else’s girl, I would go for it, you know? Usually I don’t go for women in relationships but, damn it, she’s great and I would try.”

“Lyon…” Gray’s frown deepened.

“I said if she were _‘anyone else’s girl’_ , Gray.” Lyon rolled his eyes. “You are my _brother_ and she’s your girlfriend. _Of course_ I won’t do anything. I might turn on the charm when she’s around, but I won’t make any advances.”

“Good.” Gray relaxed slightly. “Could you at least stop with the moony eyes?”

“Sorry, can’t turn them off on will.” Lyon snorted. “And hey, if she leaves you I’m no longer bound to broship and she’s fair game!” He said in an excited tone, clearly cheering against his brother’s relationship.

“Shut up. We just started dating, we are not breaking up anytime soon” It was Gray’s turn to roll his eyes, hitting him on the shoulder and Lyon laughed.

“A man can only hope.” The white-haired man shrugged.

“Leave already, I have to see you again next weekend and that’s all I can take of you in less than seven days.”

“I hear you.” Lyon pulled Gray for a quick hug and patted them on the back. “Bring her home soon, okay? You know mom and dad will be pestering you to meet her. And Ultear will too once she hears about Juvia-chan.”

“I know.” Gray groaned; he was _so_ not looking for the day Juvia met his family. Lyon was supposed to be simplest one and their meeting had become a love triangle. Hooray.

“If it serves any consolation, once you bring her home I’ll be all praises after all, she might stay in the family if you two break up and I need mom’s and dad’s approval.” Lyon winked and Gray snorted. “Well, off I go to my hotel room. Cold and _alone_.”

“Tough luck.” Gray told him. “See you next week.”

**#**

Gray looked down to his wristwatch and saw it was almost time for his next class to start. He looked down to Juvia, who had her arm twined on his and looking to her side, where Lucy was with her boyfriend. She laughed at something Lucy said.

“Are we all up for dinner tonight?” Gray asked the other three. “We gotta go to class and I just want to know.”

“Sure.” Natsu shrugged and Lucy nodded.

“Alright.” Gray gave one nod and looked down to his girlfriend. “Your class finishes first, right? Unless you want to wait for me…”

“Juvia will go home, don’t worry.” She smiled. “She’ll meet you there-” She looked past him and Gray saw her eyes widen in surprise and her face became pale.

Gray frowned. “Juvia?” Quickly she untwined their arms – knowing he didn’t like holding hands, it was her way of being close to him and Gray quite enjoyed it – and took step back from the three of them. “What the-?”

“Juvia?” He heard a male voice and looked behind him and there was a man, around their age, with light blonde hair, blue eyes, tall and very build-up coming their way. “Juvia Lockser? It’s me, Jay!” He smiled and even though he wasn’t very attractive, his smile was sincere and it seemed to make people at ease. “Remember me? I was friends with Bora. You two used to double date with me and my girl, Mara.”

“Yes, Juvia remembers.” Juvia said, clearly uncomfortable. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, my baby brother is looking into some colleges and he was considering coming to Magnolia so I offered my mom and dad to bring him.” He shrugged and finally looked to the other three people with her. “Hi, Jay Nunes.” He offered his hand to Gray in a friendly manner and seeing Juvia knew him, Gray felt no harm in shaking his hand.

“Gray Fullbuster.” He told him. “Those are Natsu and Lucy.” The blonde woman waved a hello to him and Natsu nodded his way.

“Nice to meet you.” Jay said, happily. “Are you friends with Juvia?”

Gray noddes. “We are; I’m actually her b-”

“Jay-kun.” Juvia interrupted Gray and he became even more confused when she didn’t let him say he was her boyfriend. She stepped closer to the blonde man. “It is very nice to see you again, but we have classes now.” In all the time he had known Juvia, Gray never heard that cold tone; and Jay was being really nice, which was even weirder. “You should go back to your brother.”

Seeming not at all bothered by her tone, Jay nodded. “Yeah, I should.” He scratched the back of his head. “It was nice to see you again. I’ll tell Bora I saw you. He really didn’t like the way you two ended things, he’s a really nice guy and felt really bad-”

Juvia became even paler, but took two steps closer to Jay and in a low, cold tone, she asked him in a whisper: “He felt _bad_?” Her voice became louder. “ _He felt bad_? Trust me, he didn’t feel bad at all that Juvia had to move away because of what people were saying about me. He was _relieved_.” She hissed at him. “Tell him you saw me and that I _still_ know what he did, I’ll never forget and tell him I’m still watching. If he crosses the line, I’ll know.”

Jay seemed surprised, then, and after a moment, he sighed. “I hoped that you didn’t held on to this break-up after all these months. I guess you still need time to get over it.”

Gray saw Juvia opening up her mouth as if to speak, but thought better and shook her head. “Sure, the break-up. That’s what this is about.” Her shoulders dropped. “No matter how many times...” She dried the corner of her eye and raised her chin. “Say hello to Mara-san for me.”

“Sure. See you around, Juvia.” Jay shrugged and after give Juvia a pity look, turned around and walked away from them.

“Juvia?” Gray put a hand on her lower back and he could see that his friends were also concerned about what they had witnessed; Juvia was always polite and nice to everyone she met. “What was that about?”

“Nothing.” She started to walk and Gray quickly followed.

“Nothing?” He was surprised. “That wasn’t ‘nothing’. I’ve never seen you lash out on someone you know like that. Isn’t Bora your ex-boyfriend?” Gray grabbed her wrist to make her stop and she did, but didn’t look his way. “Juvia, tell me what’s happening. You see this guy, gets pale, don’t let him know I’m your boyfriend, tells him to send a message to your ex that you are watching him if he steps over the line? Talk to me because I am lost.”

Juvia stayed quiet for a moment and pulled her arm away from him. “You are going to be late for class.”

“Shit.” Gray whispered and tried to follow her but a large group of people who had just come out of the buildings blocked his way and he lost sight of her. He looked around and instinctively knew she wasn’t going to class. He got his phone and dialed her number. It rang and then was cut off; the second time he tried, the phone was turned off. “Juvia, come on.” He whispered to himself and when he looked up, saw Natsu and Lucy coming his way, both concerned.

“Where is she?” Lucy asked.

“I… don’t know.” Gray looked around one more time. “I don’t know.” He whispered to himself.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun duuuuuun. We’ll finally know why Juvia and Bora broke up. And I promise to make Lyon appear more the next time we see him, I just couldn’t have him hitting on his brother’s girl so obviously and so soon! Lol But he’s clearly still smitten.  
> 


	11. I'm Here With You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Trigger warning: mentions of rape**

 

After driving around for a while, looking for his girlfriend, Gray gave up just going to random places hoping to find her there. Instead, Gray drove to her building and waited until he caught someone else leaving before he snuck in.

With a sigh, after knocking on her door for good measure – he was sure she wasn’t home – Gray sat on the floor, back resting against her door and phone in hand just in case she called and he waited.

She had to come home sometime and he needed to make sure she was alright after that strange meeting that afternoon.

A noise caught his attention from the stairs and for a second, he thought it was Juvia, but his shoulders dropped when he saw it was an older woman, all her hair was white and she looked frail. She was holding some bags with groceries but looked at him in suspicion when she noticed him just sitting there. He must’ve been a vision, hair messy because of the number of times he passed his fingers through it in frustration and he was clearly upset.

Seeing she was struggling with her groceries, Gray got up and the woman held on to her purse, still looking at him suspiciously.

“Do you need any help?” He asked, stopping a few steps away from her so she felt safer. “My name is Gray, I’m Juvia’s boyfriend.” Gray pointed towards the door of the apartment. “I’m waiting for her.”

The woman relaxed slightly. “Oh, I’ve seen you two together. I know Juvia-chan, she’s a sweet girl.” Taking it as his cue, Gray took the groceries from her quietly. “Thank you.” Gray shrugged and watched as she opened the door, her hands shaking lightly as she reached for her keys and slowly opened the door. “Could you…?” She pointed towards the counter and Gray put the bags there. “Thank you very much.”

“You are welcome.” He bowed his head slightly and offered the older woman a small smile before making his way out. Once he was outside the apartment, he checked his phone and sighed when there were no new messages.

With a humph, he sat back in front of her door, closing his eyes and resting his head on the door. He wanted to see her. She never outright ignored him before, she had always been the one wanting to talk, to share and now that he needed her to appear, she was nowhere to be found.

“Did you two have a fight?” The voice startled Gray, who opened his eyes and saw the older woman on her doorway, arms crossed over her chest. “Is that why you are waiting?”

“No.” He answered. “I’m worried because something happened and she ran away before I could help her. I just want to make sure she is fine.”

The woman hummed in agreement. “I see. It’s about time someone took care of that girl.” She nodded. “She forgets that she also needs to be taken care of.”

Gray snorted. “That she does. Hopefully she’ll let me.”

“She will.” The woman chuckled. “If you need anything, just knock.”

“Thank you…” He didn’t know what to call her.

“Martha.” She supplied.

“Thank you, Martha.” Before he could say anything else, they heard footsteps stopping and both looked at its direction.

It was Juvia and she was clearly surprised to see him there. “Gray-sama?”

He was on his feet a second later, walking her way, feeling so relieved to see her he could wrap his arms around her for hours. “Oh, thank god!” He whispered and did as he wanted, pulled her into a hug. “Dammit, Juvia. You can’t disappear like that.” For a second, he thought she was going to push him away but then he felt her arms around his torso. “Don’t do that again.” By the corner of his eyes, he saw Martha smile and quietly get inside her apartment, closing the door to give them privacy.

“I’m sorry.” She muttered, hiding her face on his chest. “I got overwhelmed.”

“It’s alright.” He told her and kissed the top of her head. “Are you alright now?” Seeing her hesitate to answer, Gray cleared his throat. “Do you need some time? I can go, if you want me to.”

Juvia shook her head. “No. Juvia doesn’t want to be alone and… she wants to explain.”

He frowned. “Okay.” She grabbed his shirt as if afraid he was going to leave if she didn’t hold on very tightly. “Let’s go inside.”

“Yes.” Juvia agreed.

**#**

Gray watched as his girlfriend walked in circles, clearly nervous and agitated, while Gray sat on the couch, trying to be patient and waiting until she was ready to speak. Seeing the situation she was in, Gray was almost afraid about what he was going to hear.

With a loud sigh, Juvia finally stopped moving around and sat by Gray’s side. Gray turned her way and waited as she moved her hands over her lap.

“You know Juvia has had an ex-boyfriend and that we didn’t end in good terms.” Juvia said and Gray nodded. “Alright.” She cleared her throat to calm herself. “His name is Bora, we met at a party during my second semester, his third and I couldn’t believe he started to hit on me. He was… the golden boy.” Juvia sighed. “Handsome, smart, wonderful grades, member of the polo team, very easygoing, articulate and somehow he wanted me, the lonely scholarship orphan.” Gray frowned at that.

“We were together for almost seven months and he treated me well, he did seem like a nice guy. He wasn’t.” Juvia’s eyes watered and Gray’s gut twisted inside his stomach, preparing himself. “There had been a man terrorizing women on the campus, drugging them, taking them to a seclude location and… raping them. The next morning, they remembered nothing. The girls were always the same type, lonely, with little or no friends.” She gulped. “Sadly, this is more common than we think it is, but everyone knew it was the same man because he took one earring from every girl he attacked, leaving the other.

“There were so many, every girl in campus was on alert. Seventeen cases we knew of, not to mention the ones we didn’t know.” Juvia took a deep breath. “I had spent the night at his apartment and he had left early for a test and I was about to leave when I tripped on a loose board on the floor.” Juvia closed her eyes. “Juvia was about to call him, to tell him he needed to have it fixed when I saw a plastic bag there. I got curious.” Juvia opened her eyes and stared at Gray. “Inside, there were twenty-two earrings, not one with a pair.”

Gray’s eyes widened and he felt sick. “Fuck. He-”

“Yes.” Juvia nodded, a few tears falling. “I didn’t want to believe at first, but the evidence… I grabbed the bag and left the apartment. Thank god I had the mind to hide it, because a few hours later, he came to my apartment, shaking in anger, demanding for it. He had arrived home and saw the floor board loose, the earrings missing. He knew it had been me.”

“What did you do?”

“Confronted him.” Juvia shook her head. “I thought… I thought he was going to deny it at least. But not even that. He told me there was no harm done since they didn’t remember what happened. He couldn’t even see…” She tried to dry her tears. “He kept demanding the bag, but I couldn’t give them to him. I owed those women to hold on to it until justice could be served. I didn’t care he was my boyfriend, he was a criminal. He punched me.” Gray felt anger boil inside his veins. “He had never been violent before, but he did and told me no one would believe me if I told and he’d ruin my life.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“I waited for the next day, afraid he was going to follow me and went to the police station.” Juvia looked away. “They were expecting me.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Bora is the son of a Police Captain.” Juvia cleared. “He must’ve warned his father. I didn’t… I didn’t even think about that. A couple of officers took me to an interview room… It was horrible.”

“Did they threaten you?”

She nodded. “Me and… Gajeel-kun.” She passed a hand through her hair. “Gajeel-kun was never arrested, he was behaving but he has some issues and if provoked, he could… Bora knew. They asked me for the bag, over and over again.”

“You didn’t give them.” Gray guessed.

“No.” She shook her head. “Going to the police, I only took one earring with me, the rest was safe. It was the only guarantee I had. They gave up after a while. Juvia is not proud to say she left the precinct in tears.” The blunette looked down in shame.

Gray reached for one of her hands and slid closer to her, putting an arm around her shoulder to comfort her. “You had just found out the guy you were dating was a serial rapist, you got assaulted by him and the people who were supposed to help you, terrorized you. I’m impressed you held it together as well as you did, by what you told me.” Juvia sniffled. “What happened, then?”

Juvia sighed, bracing herself. “He appeared at my apartment later.” Gray’s body tensed. “I didn’t let him in, the phone was in my hand ready to call the emergency and the chain stayed on.” He relaxed just a little bit. “He told me to not tell anyone, or he’d make my life hell and that no one would believe me, not an orphan with no support, with no one. I was so mad at him.” Juvia whispered, getting closer to Gray as if to make sure he wasn’t going to leave. “I told him everyone would know.” She hid her face on his shoulder. “He made good on his promise.”

“What did he do?”

“The next day, when Juvia got to the university and went to see the Dean… everyone seemed to look at her.” She whispered and Gray frowned. “Then Juvia heard someone say ‘she’s the one who went crazy over the break-up’.”

“What?” His frown deepened.

“Juvia didn’t pay too much attention to it at first until she spoke with the Dean.” Juvia stopped for a second. “She let me tell the whole story before she told me it was against the policy of the University to falsely accuse someone of a crime, especially when the police had already turned me down. She told me I should get over my break-up without damaging a good man’s future.” She gulped. “Bora had told everyone he broke-up with me and I went crazy over it.”

“Shit.”

“He told everyone I refused to let him go and that I said I’d destroy his life, when in reality he was destroying mine. Everyone looked at me as if I was crazy, as if I’d snap at any time and just kill him or whatever.” Juvia told him. “I even reached out to some influential women and when I told them who I thought had done the rapes, do you know what they said?” He shook his head. “That it couldn’t be him, Bora didn’t _need_ to rape anyone with how he looked, with who he was. Any woman _wanted_ to sleep with him. Some of the women he raped believed in me, others, not so much,”

“What the fuck?”

Juvia moved her head so she could look up. “They didn’t get the difference between what happened and what it should’ve happened. I tried a few more times, but everyone started to call me a stalker, that I was obsessed with him.” Juvia gulped. “He’d appear in front of my apartment at night, as if just checking or just to terrorize me, stayed a few minutes and then left. I couldn’t sleep, I was getting paranoid he was going to get inside my apartment and do the same thing he did to those girls. People whispered as I walked around, saying ‘stalker’ or ‘crazy’. Juvia was falling apart, not sleeping, eating whenever I remembered, my grades weren’t the same and it was close to the finals, it was the first time Juvia was so down at the ranks since she was thirteen.

“No one believed me, I was being pushed away from everything, I was getting sick because of it.” She dried a stray tear. “This went on for a few months before I couldn’t take it anymore. That’s when Juvia decided to change schools, to come here and start over. That’s why Juvia doesn’t have many friends on her Facebook page, and all I do have are from here, that’s why Juvia didn’t let Jay-kun know we are dating. Bora… he could come back here and do something to me, Gajeel-kun, you, I don’t know. Juvia was just afraid.

“I’ve been monitoring the news around where he lives and unless he changes his M.O., he hasn’t…” Juvia hesitated. “It’s nothing, it doesn’t change much but I keep an eye on him the best I can. The moment I hear something happened I’m going to drive over there and make a fuss.” She looked down, defeated. “I just need for someone to believe me, for his father to not be as influential.”

“Fuck, Juvia.” Gray shook his head. “I never thought… You are such a strong person, I didn’t think…”

“No one does.” She told him. “Besides Gajeel-kun, you are the only one who knows about this.” Gray nodded and for one awful moment, he thought about her. Was she…? Did it happen to her? By the way she talked it didn’t seem that way, but- “I know what you want to ask.” She interrupted his thoughts. “It’s the question everyone wants to ask and never do.” Gray looked down in shame. “Juvia told Gajeel-kun she was certain nothing happened to her, otherwise he would’ve killed Bora. But the real answer is that I don’t know.”

Gray blinked in surprise. “You don’t?”

The blunette shook her head. “I was his girlfriend, I spent nights there, we had sex.” She said. “He could’ve drugged me while I stayed at his place after we had sex and in the morning I wouldn’t know; anything I felt could’ve been for regular intercourse.” Gray nodded. “No earrings were ever missing from me, so maybe… he didn’t get the thrill from his girlfriend? I don’t know how his sick mind worked, but the truth is that Juvia has no idea if he violated her.”

“I’m sorry.” Gray squeezed her hand tighter. “God, I wish I could put my hands on him!”

“Get in line. Gajeel-kun taught me how to defend myself.” Juvia raised her chin. “To never get assaulted like that again.”

“That’s why you acted so fast when that guy touched your ass at the diner.” Gray recalled. “You punched him.”

“Never again.” She repeated.

Seeing her tale was finished for now, Gray noticed how tired Juvia looked. She had probably wandered the whole afternoon, going through what happened inside her head over and over, thinking about what she could’ve done differently, torturing herself because she wasn’t superwoman.

“You look about to drop.” Gray told her gently. “Eat something, take a shower and go to sleep.” Thankfully it was her day off.

“Can’t eat, my stomach is turning.” The blunette shook her head and Gray reserved that information for later, alongside the fact she had told him she got sick during the time she was back at her old school. “Sleep sounds wonderful, though, even if it’s early.”

“You need the rest.” He didn’t know what to do; should he offer to stay? Should he leave? Did she need him around or not with everything she went through? “Juvia?” She looked his way. “Do you want me to stay? I can either stay or go, it’s your call.”

She bit her lower lip. “Juvia doesn’t want to be alone.”

“Then you won’t be.” He told her gently. “Go take a shower, I’ll take one after you.”

**#**

**From: Natsu**

_21:11: Did you find her?_

**To: Natsu**

_21:12: Yeah. She’s fine now._

**From: Natsu**

_21:12: Are you sure? She looked very freaked out._

**To: Natsu**

_21:13: She was, but I’m staying with her tonight._

**From: Natsu**

_21:14: Anything I can do to help from my end?_

**To: Natsu**

_21:15: If you ever meet a scumbag named Bora, who is her ex, make sure to punch a few times until I get there to finish the job._

_21:15: Trust me, he deserves._

**From: Natsu**

_21:16: I bet he does. Don’t worry, punch first, questions later. Or no questions at all, if you tell me the guy deserves, I believe you._

_21:16: Go take care of your girl. Good night, ice brain._

**To: Natsu**

_21:17: Yeah, night fire breath._

Gray looked towards the bathroom where Juvia was combing her wet hair. She had exited the shower with a towel around her frame and while Gray took his own shower, changed into some comfortable pajamas – large and didn’t do anything to tease him in any way, with the big sleeves, dark grey color with pink hearts all over – and once he was done, she got inside to comb her hair and he checked his texts while she did so.

He lied down on what he considered to be his side of the bed and he waited for her to come to bed.

Juvia turned off the bathroom light and was quick to jump on the bed and get under the covers with him, her whole body wrapping itself around his and he let her find the best position. He knew she had found it when she sighed in contentment.

Gray started to slowly stroke her hair, as if to put her to sleep faster. His hand stilled when he heard her whispered: “Thank you.”

“What for?” Gray whispered back.

“For believing me.” She said. “You never questioned my story.”

“That’s because I’ve known you for just a few months and even so I can see you were honest.” He told her, quietly. “Anyone paying attention would know.”

“Thank you even so.” She kissed his cheek. “Most people don’t believe me.”

“I am not most people.” He felt a little better when he saw the corners of her mouth turn upward just a little bit. “Now go to sleep, tomorrow I have to talk to you about how my parents are asking more and more about you, since Lyon spilled the beans that he met you.”

That time she actually chuckled. “Juvia should meet them soon.”

“Yeah.” Gray agreed. He grabbed her hand and gave her a light squeeze. “Now, sleep. You are not alone, I’m here with you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super last minute improv that worked out on that last line. Haha
> 
> So, basically Bora is the scum of humanity. On canon he really poisoned women (like he tried with Lucy) to sell them as slaves, so, a good guy all around, eh? I hope the chapter was alright. Oh, and next chapter guess who’s gonna meet? HAHA


	12. Fight Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After some drama last chapter, let’s have something lighter. :3  
> The song’s Juvia performs to is called Fight Song by Rachel Platten

 

“Oh, there he is! Gray!” He heard from behind him and he looked over his shoulder and saw his mother alongside with his father coming his way.

“Hey.” Gray turned around and welcomed his parents. “You are right on time.”

“I’ve never been to a Figure Skating competition before.” Silver informed his son and patted him on the back and his wife stepped in and hugged their son. “Does your girl know we are here?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t trap her like that.” Gray said. “Just don’t be two weirdoes this weekend, okay?”

Once he knew Juvia’s next performance would be a town next to his parents’, he asked Juvia what she thought about inviting them to watch it and meet them. He was careful while talking to her, knowing she was still a bit freaked out about telling him about her past.

_“Are you sure they would want to go?” Juvia asked while she was packing. “And that they would want Juvia to stay at their house?”_

_“Yes.” Gray snorted. “They insisted on it, actually. I told them I would ask you about it. If you’d rather not, just say the word and I’ll tell them we are leaving after your performance.”_

_Juvia had hesitated but shook her head. “No. Juvia wants to meet them and if they say it’s alright…”_

_“They do.” He put his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. “By the way, I already apologize for whatever they say to embarrass me. Or you. But mostly me.”_

_The blunette giggled and stopped packing for a moment to put her hand on his hair. “Juvia accepts your apologies already.”_

“We are never weird, son.” Silver pretended to be very offended.

“I take offense at that.” Ur followed her husband’s cue. “I intend to be the best version of myself this weekend – we need to keep this one, right, Silver? I fear you won’t find another one, you are too picky.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Silver looked down to her. “I wonder how he got her in the first place.”

“Oh, remember what he told us? _She_ was the one who asked him out.” Ur told him and he laughed. “Otherwise he’d still be his frowny self.” She did and impression of him that made Gray roll his eyes.

“Alright, I need you two to tone all this” he waved their way “down. Don’t embarrass me.”

“Don’t worry, kid.” Silver chuckled and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “We like to tease you, but we won’t actually do anything.” Gray looked at him in mistrust. “Now, shall we go?”

**#**

“This place is rather crowded.” Silver commented while applauding the contestant as she left the rink.

“It’s the finals.” Gray told him, also applauding. “She’s one of the favorites to win, according to Juvia.”

“Oh. It was quite good, right?” The older man guessed.

“It was.” Gray agreed begrudgingly. “Juvia is next, she has to, at least, be just as good. She is also a favorite to win and I’ve seen what she had prepared and if she does everything like she’s supposed to, she will.” 

“This is exciting. I can see it now why people enjoy it.” Ur told them. “Did you know your brother quite enjoys Figure Skating? And he knew Juvia even before you two started dating? He told us when he said he had met her.”

“Yeah, trust me, I know.” Gray snorted.

“Did something happen between you two?” Ur looked his way with curiosity. “He was weird when he mentioned it.”

“It’s fine now.” He answered. “We’re fine.”

Ur narrowed her dark eyes, but seemed to believe him. “Alright. As long as you two are alright.”

He was prevented from answering when the narrator said: _“Next contestant is Juvia Lockser from Magnolia University.”_

“Oh, is that her?” Silver started clapping as Juvia skated to the middle of the rink.

“Yeah, that’s her.” Gray clapped as well, smiling and he looked up to the screen where they had a close-up on her. She looked beautiful, her deep blue dress sparkled with the light, her hair in a tight bun and she struck a pose, arms up as she waited for her song to start.

“Damn it, even _I_ am nervous now.” Muttered Ur while she looked to the rink with curiosity and she was clearly eager for it to begin, making Gray snicker.

His heart was beating faster when the noted of the song started and he hoped she did exactly like in practice. She could win, he knew it.

_Like a small boat on the ocean_  
Sending big waves into motion  
Like how a single word  
Can make a heart open  
I might only have one match  
But I can make an explosion

Juvia started out slowly, skating and moving her arms and for a second Gray could easily see her as if she was a wave herself with her dark blue dress – perhaps it was why she chose it. She did her step sequence.

The music began to get faster and she started to skate at the same tune of it, getting speed for her sequence.

_And all those things I didn't say_  
Wrecking balls inside my brain  
I will scream them loud tonight  
Can you hear my voice this time?

She did her jump, then, the Double Axel, where she jumped, did two complete rotations and landed, perfectly and before Gray could contain himself, he was off his seat, clapping her. She was perfect, that much he knew.

_This is my fight song_  
Take back my life song  
Prove I'm alright song  
My powers turned on  
Starting right now I'll be strong

Juvia caught speed once again and spun going down and then up again in a sit spin as the chorus rang and Gray whispered to himself. “ _Yes!_ ” She had been worried about the landing on that one.

_I'll play my fight song_  
And I don't really care  
If nobody else believes  
'Cause I've still got  
A lot of fight left in me

She landed after doing a Loop jump and the music slowed down again, allowing her to do a few spins in sequence: Flying and Camel.

_Like a small boat on the ocean_  
Sending big waves into motion  
Like how a single word  
Can make a heart open  
I might only have one match  
But I can make an explosion

Gray held his breath and saw Juvia skate backwards, jump, spin around in the air three times and had another perfect landing in a Lutz spin. That time, he was loud with his cheer. “Yes! _Yes!_ ”

_This is my fight song_  
Take back my life song  
Prove I'm alright song  
My powers turned on  
Starting right now I'll be strong  
I'll play my fight song  
And I don't really care  
If nobody else believes  
'Cause I've still got  
A lot of fight left in me

She finalized with a flip jump, turning it to an upright spin, stopping exactly with the song and Gray could see that she was breathing fast, but by her expression, she knew her performance had been amazing, almost perfect if not for some silly mistakes.

The crows started clapping and Gray saw his parents get up to cheer alongside with him. His father looked to the man next to him and said, proudly: “That’s my son’s girlfriend!”

“Oh, that was great. It was _beautiful_.” Ur told him with a smile on her lips.

“That was Juvia.” Gray said to his mother, nor caring at all if he sounded cheesy and she didn’t tease him, just sat back when he did while the next contestant was introduced.

**#**

She was talking on the phone when Gray saw her and she worn a pair of jeans and a dark shirt, her hair was loose in her usual curls, the gold medal hanging from her neck, her bag on one shoulder. Juvia looked up and saw Gray, a smile appearing on her face and he immediately smiled back, still excited with her win.

“…good night, Gajeel-kun.” She said and put her cellphone in her jeans’ pocket, took a few steps and put her arms around Gray’s neck bringing him down for a kiss; his hands went to her hips, pulling her closer.

“Congratulations.” He told her when their lips unlocked and she was beaming in excitement when he touched the gold medal.

“Thank you.” Juvia said. “Oh, Juvia was so nervous!”

“I couldn’t tell, you were really good.” Gray told her honestly.

“Good.” She nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Now… where are your parents?” Juvia asked. “Did they enjoy tonight?”

Gray snorted. “Yeah. My dad was telling everyone you were my girlfriend while you were getting your medal. I think you just got another fanboy from my family.”

Juvia giggled. “As long as you are one of them, Juvia is happy.”

“Well…” Gray pretended to think and shrugged. “I guess you are alright.” Juvia hit him on the shoulder while laughing as Gray smirked her way. “Now come on, let’s meet my parents and get this over with.”

He got her bag and they walked side by side to where his parents were. Silver and Ur were talking to each other and as soon as the younger couple was close enough, their attention went to them. Juvia was clearly nervous, but Gray put a hand on her lower back and she relaxed a bit.

“Mom, dad: this is Juvia.” Gray introduced her. “Juvia, these are my mom and dad.”

“Nice meeting you.” The blunette offered a small wave, shy.

“At last we meet the famous Juvia.” Silver chuckled. “Come here.” He pulled her for a quick hug, unlike Gray, Silver liked to show his affection to the people he loved. He let her go and smiled her way. “Nice meeting you, I’m Silver, but you can call me Papa.”

“Dad!” Gray exclaimed.

“Too soon?” Silver gasped in clear fake surprise, but offered Juvia a smile and a wink, to which she couldn’t help but to chuckle. “Alright, I’ll bring it up again in a few months.”

“Don’t listen to him, he’s getting older and crazier so I have _that_ to look forward for my golden years.” Ur scoffed when her husband seemed insulted. She, then, offered a hand to Juvia and the blunette shook it. “I’m Ur.”

“Nice meeting you.” Juvia said again and Ur let go of her hand.

“Let me tell you, I was never into figure skating but seeing you tonight has really opened my eyes.” Ur told the younger woman. “It was very good.”

“It really was!” Silver got excited. “I think I would break my neck if I tried any of those things you did, so more respect to you.”

Juvia smiled. “Thank you. If you want, Silver-sama, Juvia can teach you some moves that wouldn’t make you break your neck.”

“Don’t encourage him, please.” Ur said. “He’s getting close to his middle-age life crisis and I can deal with most of the things I think he’ll do, but not see him in some sort of spandex while dancing on ice. There’s only so much a woman can take.”

Silver snorted. “You are jealous because I would totally rock a spandex and you wouldn’t.”

“Sure, honey, _that_ ’s the reason.” Ur rolled her eyes and her attention returned to Juvia. “Now, shall we go have some dinner? I know a nice restaurant and I think it’s better if we eat and hit the road afterwards, it’s an hour drive to our town, you see. That way we get to talk a bit before going home.”

Juvia glanced at Gray and he nodded. “Yeah, sure.” Ur gave Gray the address as they started to walk towards the parking lot, saying quick ‘see you soons’ when they had to go different ways to get to their cars.

“Aw, look at them.” Juvia said when she looked over her shoulder and when Gray did the same, he saw his parents holding hands as they walked towards their car. “They are so adorable.”

“Wait until they start kissing in front of you.” Gray made a disgusted face. “It’s not fun for me at all.”

Juvia smiled. “Juvia bets it isn’t.” She twined her arm on his and rested her head on his shoulder. “You know, you should learn from your father and hold your girlfriend’s hand.” She teased him.

Gray groaned. “Ew, please don’t compare me with my dad. We already look a lot alike and that’s something I can’t change. We are very different people.”

“Juvia knows.” She said while giggling and they stopped in front of Gray’s car so she gave him a peck on his lips before letting him go and walking to the passenger’s side, opening the car door when Gray got his keys and pressed the alarm button. “Don’t worry, Juvia’s already used to your way of doing things.”

He got in the car a moment after she did and put her bag on the backseat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well,” Juvia said “you are a very private person when it comes to relationships, you don’t like people minding your business or offering unwanted advice. Juvia thinks that’s why your PDA is very contained.” She shrugged. “You get uncomfortable with even something as simple as hold-handing.”

Gray cringed: he was really not the best at showing affection in public. “Sorry. That has always been a problem.”

“That’s fine, Juvia doesn’t mind.” She put a hand on his thigh and he looked her way. “You do all these little things that makes all the difference, you know? You are always next to me when we’re at the same room and you often put your hand on my lower back just because – it’s a small gesture to others, but Juvia knows better. Whenever we sit together you put your arm on my chair and you don’t complain when Juvia touches or kiss you in public.”

“There’s really nothing to complain, trust me.” Gray said and he stopped to think for a moment. “I guess I do that. I don’t mind if you start it because that’s just who you are, you like showing affection, it’s more difficult for me to initiate it.”

“And that’s who you are.” Juvia shrugged. “Besides, when we are alone, you don’t mind displaying affection at all.” She snickered. “Juvia remembers when she found out you liked to cuddle, she was very surprised.”

He felt his cheeks get warmer as he blushed. “I don’t.”

“Oh, you do.”

“I don’t.”

“Juvia sleeps next to you, Gray-sama. You cuddle.”

“No, I-”

“Gray-sama.” She gave him a knowing look.

“I don- You know what? _Fine_. No reason to deny it.” Gray rolled his eyes. “I like it and since we’re together, being the person I hug in my sleep is your burden to bear so _suck it up_.”

Juvia giggled. “Oh, that’s just awful. Juvia needs to review this _brand-new_ information.”

“Shut up.” He muttered and she kissed his cheek. Gray was about to start the car when he remembered something. “Oh, I got you something.” Juvia frowned in confusion and Gray reached to his backseat where he had put the bouquet of roses he had bought a few hours before. It was a bouquet with a dozen pink tulips, he had purchased them when he dropped Juvia off earlier that day so she could meet with her coach and he drove around town for a while to pass the time. “Congratulations on your win.”

The moment Juvia saw the bouquet, her eyes widened in surprise. “For me?”

“Of course.” Gray shrugged. “Winners get flowers, right? Here.” He offered it to her and she took it.

“You didn’t know Juvia would win.” She said, looking down to the flowers in wonder.

“Yes, I did.” He told her in a matter-of-fact tone and the blunette finally raised her gaze to him and stared at him for a few moments before she put the bouquet on the backseat once again and Gray frowned. “You didn’t like it- oh” Juvia was exceptionally quick to go from her seat to go sit on his lap, her hands on his cheeks, their faces just a few centimeters away.

“See?” Juvia whispered. “You show affection when we are alone and in your own way.”

“I try.” He said, truthfully.

Gray wasn’t too good on being a regular boyfriend, he didn’t think they needed for everyone to know about them or to kiss all the time in public. He hated to have people gossiping about his particular life and tried not to give any ammo to them. His girlfriends, throughout the years, had labeled him as uncaring, when in reality sometimes he cared too much sometimes, he just didn’t let them know how much so they didn’t know how much power they could have over him.

Juvia could see right through him, though. It scared and thrilled him at the same time.

“Juvia knows you try and trust me, she appreciates it.” The blunette kissed his lips, slowly at first and then she coaxed his mouth open to give him a hot, slow kiss. “Can we be a few minutes late to meet your parents?” She whispered when they needed air.

“Hell yes.” Gray nodded and pulled her for another kiss as Juvia laughed with his enthusiasm.

**#**

“So, Juvia, tell us: what do marine biologists actually do?” Silver asked, his elbow on the table, hand supporting his head as he spoke to the blunette in front of him. “Gray mentioned you wanted to be one.”

They had ordered a few minutes before and small talked for a while until Silver spoke. Gray and Juvia had arrived ten minutes after the older couple and by their knowing looks, what made them late was no secret at all, especially with how hard Juvia was blushing and god, her hair must’ve been a vision.

“Well… We study and analyze ocean ecology and aquatic life.” Juvia told them. “It sounds boring, I know.”

“No, no, that’s very interesting!” Silver was quick to say. “I really like the sea and it scares the crap out of me that we know only about five per cent of it! Have you seen the freaky fish that’s out there when they go deep enough? There are giant squids that can take on whales. _Whales_!” He was passionate about it, to Juvia’s surprise. “It freaks me out.”

“Shouldn’t have showed you we had a Nat Geo channel.” Ur sighed in defeat and looked apologetic to the blunette. “I’m sorry, he watched a lot of documentaries when we are home.”

“That’s where you get it from.” Juvia told her boyfriend with a smile and Gray shrugged, putting his arm behind Juvia on top of her chair.

Silver was getting excited. “I saw one about the Submarine Shark… Let me tell you _wow_. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.”

Juvia blinked in surprise and for a moment she didn’t know what to say. She must’ve showed in her expression because Gray frowned and asked: “What is it?”

“Uh… Silver-sama.” Juvia was hesitant. “Sorry, but that documentary was fake.”

The older man’s smile slowly faded and a frown took over his expression. “What?”

“I know it appears great, but it’s actually fake.” Juvia said it again. “They made it sound as if it were real, didn’t they?”

Silver blinked a few times and then turned to his wife. “They lied to me. I thought it was real.”

“Poor husband.” Ur pouted, clearly as a joke. “Does that mean you are going to stop with the documentaries all the time?”

As if not hearing Ur at all, Silver’s attention returned to Juvia. “Are the other documentaries fake too? Did we _really_ just explore five percent of the ocean or they lied about that  fact too?” He was clearly taking it personally.

“Oh, that information is right.” Juvia reassured him. “Most of the documentaries are true, but some are not.”

“I’m never trusting a documentary again.” Silver said. “I can’t believe they _lied_ to me. I’ve been telling everyone to watch it!”

“You can’t trust everything you see on TV, dad.” Gray rolled his eyes.

“It was a documentary, it was supposed to be educational!” Silver was clearly heartbroken. “I have it saved on my favorites so I can watch it anytime I want to.” He mumbled the last sentence.

Not bearing to see him feeling so down, Juvia reached for his hand over the table. “Juvia has a list of some good truthful documentaries, Silver-sama. If you want, Juvia can tell you some names.”

“Thank you, my dear.” Silver patted the hand above his. “You are a good girl, unlike some other people.” He glanced his wife’s way and Ur snorted at the drama while all Gray could do was to roll his eyes.

“Let’s change subjects before Silver starts to bawl here.” Ur said and then asked Juvia: “Gray mentioned you have a scholarship because of Figure Skating.”

“Juvia does.” She nodded and let go of Silver’s hand. “It’s partial, but it’s something.”

“Absolutely.” Ur nodded in agreement. “Your parents must be proud to see you make your way.” Juvia was confused and she looked at her boyfriend: didn’t they know she was an orphan? Seeing her reaction and by the way Gray cringed, Ur frowned in confusion. “What is it?”

“Erm, mom…” Gray was a bit awkward. “Juvia actually never met her parents.”

With a deeper frown, Ur looked Juvia’s way and the blunette said, gently: “Juvia is an orphan, Ur-sama.”

First, Ur paled and then all color returned to her face in embarrassment. “Oh, I’m _so_ sorry.”

“It’s alright, you didn’t know.” Juvia said, honestly.

“This was very indelicate of me.” Ur was evidently distressed. “ _Gray_ never said anything.” She gave her son a murderous look. “It’s kind of an important detail and it prevents people to commit a gaffe like mine.”

“I should’ve told you, sorry.” Gray said, apologetically.

“Yes, you should have.” Ur sighed and looked at Juvia. “You must think that I’m a total bitch now.”

“Oh no, not at all.” Juvia reassured the older woman. “You didn’t know and it’s fine, everyone knows Juvia is an orphan, she stopped being too bitter about it a long time ago. It’s who I am, it’s part of my history, but I won’t let it define me. I don’t want to be Juvia, the orphan my whole life, I want to be Juvia, the Figure Skater or the Marine Biologist. That’s who I want people to remember me by and who I aim to be.”

Silver and Ur were looking at her in surprise and a bit of respect as well while Gray looked rather proud of his girlfriend. The couple stayed in silence for a moment before Silver spoke.

“Well said, Juvia-chan.” He told her. “Very well said.”

“Indeed.” Ur agreed. “Now let’s change subjects, I’ve embarrassed myself too much this evening.”

**#**

Gray parked his car inside the garage and he saw that Juvia was still trying to wrap her mind around the size of his parents’ house. Being an architect with his own company, Silver had planned the house when he married Ur because they needed more space for their children and it ended up being one of his best works. The colonial house was slightly bigger, painted in light grey and with a beautiful garden in front of it.

“Nice, huh?” Gray asked while grabbing Juvia’s bag on the backseat. “Dad’s work.”

“Wow.” She said while nodding. “It’s really good.”

He hummed in agreement. “Yeah, now let’s get inside; mom and dad made it home first so they are probably waiting for us.”

Juvia agreed and followed Gray inside, noticing that the house was just as beautiful inside as was outside with the large rooms and a pattern of pastel colors.

“There you are.” Ur said when she saw them come inside from the garage. “I was getting worried.”

“We were just five minutes behind you two.” Gray pointed out.

Ur snorted. “Wait until you have a kid and you’ll see that minutes can be years.”

“That is true.” Silver chuckled as he closed the refrigerator and turned to the couple. “Now kids, I think it’s time for us to go to bed. Juvia-chan must be tired after today’s events.”

“A little.” Juvia agreed.

“Then let’s go upstairs.” Ur declared and the others followed her towards the stairs. “Ultear’s already asleep, and so is Meredy. That’s why neither was down here. Ultear was looking forward to meet you, but I guess it will have to wait until tomorrow.”

Having heard the name a couple of times, Juvia knew Ultear was Ur’s daughter, a few years older than Gray and Lyon while Meredy was Ultear’s daughter.

“It’s alright.” Juvia told the short haired woman. “Juvia is looking forward to meet her.”

Once they were upstairs, Ur led them the to a hall and she stopped in front of a closed door. “I prepared your room, Gray. I prepared the guest bedroom as well if you need it, Juvia.”

“Thank you.” Juvia said with a small smile.

“Now we’ll leave you to it.” Silver said, a couple of steps behind his wife. “Juvia-chan, if you need anything, our room is down the hall” he pointed to it “or ask Gray.”

“We’ll see you two in the morning.” Ur told them. “Good night, kids.”

The other three repeated the words and waved goodbye, Juvia got inside his room first and when Gray was about to follow her, he saw his father give him thumbs up with both hands while Ur shook her head in fake disapproval at her husband. Gray rolled his eyes and stepped inside the bedroom too, closing and locking the door behind him.

His room was spacious colored with pastel colors and blue details. It had a double bed, nightstands on both sides of it, a table with a chair and two doors that Juvia assumed led to the bathroom and the closet.

“Congratulations: you survived the first few hours with my parents.” Gray said, putting her bag on top of the bed.

“They are nice.” Juvia told him.

Gray scoffed. “We still have the rest of the weekend, give it time.” The blunette giggled and opened her bag to get clothes for the evening. Seeing an opportunity, Gray stepped closer to her from behind and put his arms around her waist and stole a kiss when Juvia looked over her shoulder before her attention returned to her task. “You know, fifteen-years-old me would be very proud of himself if he knew back then that one day he’d bring a girl here.”

“You never brought a girl here?” Juvia tried to concentrate but it was difficult when Gray’s lips were kissing her neck with a clear purpose in mind – she knew his tricks to get laid.

“Not really. I’ve introduced them, but I was always afraid to bring one here and my mom finds her in the middle of something.”

Juvia laughed softly. “That would’ve been traumatic.”

“Absolutely.” Gray agreed, his hands caressing her stomach and he slipped one of them under the fabric, touching her bare stomach and up. “Just so you know, there are condoms inside the nightstand’s drawers.”

Juvia immediately turned around in Gray’s arms, a look of incredulity on her face. “Juvia is not having sex with you here.”

“What?” Gray was surprised. “Why not?”

“Because your _parents_ are down the hall! What if they hear us?” Juvia told him. “Tomorrow they will look at me and see we’ve had sex under their roof. No.”

It was Gray’s turn to be unbelieving. “Juvia, they are going to think we did it whether we want it or not.” He pointed out. “Besides, that day when they learned about you, remember that you answered my phone? They _know_ we’ve slept together already.”

“I know, but if we don’t have sex at least Juvia will be able to defend herself.”

Gray rolled his eyes. “Alright, then. Tell me if you change your mind because I’m game if you are.” He sighed. “Fifteen-years-old me would be disappointed.”

Juvia smiled. “What if we go and share a shower together?” She wondered. “Will it be enough for fifteen-years-old Gray-sama feel better?

“Definitely.” He was fast to reply. “It would be the best action this bathroom have ever seen.” Gray said and Juvia laughed and told him to get them towels while she stepped inside the beautiful bathroom, happy with how her day turned out to be.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I hope you enjoyed Juvia meeting Ur and Silver.
> 
> Just so you know, the Submarine Shark is an actual documentary and the scene between Juvia and Silver was based in real events. LOL My coworker watched and loved and told me to watch it as well, since we’re both into documentaries. I did see it and almost instantly knew it was fake. After looking it up, I found out I was right and the next day, when I saw my coworker, I told him it was fake. I saw as I broke this poor man’s trust in documentaries. He felt just as betrayed as Silver was. HAHA Now every documentary he watches, he tells me to watch it too so I can look it up and see if it’s true or not. lol


	13. Journey To The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, your eyes do not deceive you: it is an update! Sorry for the delay, I was really blocked regarding my long stories. I hope you enjoy the small chapter!

 

Gray watched his family as they ate breakfast and he was very glad they accepted Juvia as fast as they did. Juvia, who, at that moment, was gently listening to his niece as she babbled about breakfast – she was still learning and they only managed to understand a few words. He noticed Ultear, his adoptive sister, also looked at the interaction, carefully measuring Juvia and her reactions to the two-year-old.

“You seem very good with kids.” Ultear said and Juvia looked up from where Meredy sat on her high chair to glance Ultear’s way.

Smiling, Juvia nodded. “Juvia likes kids and they seem to like her back.” As if to confirm her words, Meredy shoved a cookie on Juvia’s mouth and the blunette gave it a small bite to the girl’s delight. “Why, thank you.” Her attention returned to Ultear. “While growing up, a lot of babies stayed in my foster homes. Juvia helped taking care of them and the younger children.”

“Impressive.” Ultear raised an eyebrow. “Meredy isn’t friendly to many people other than us and some carefully selected children her age.”

“She does seem like a serious little lady.” Juvia said and returned her attention back to her breakfast. “Perhaps she’ll open up more as she grows up.”

“That’s the hope.” Ultear put a hand on her daughter’s head and the little girl smiled at her. “But if she doesn’t, well… That’s alright too.”

“What are you two doing today?” Silver asked, getting Gray’s attention.

“I’m going to show Juvia the town.” Gray answered.

“It’s Juvia’s first time here.” She explained.

“Good.” Ur nodded. “It’s a beautiful little town.”

“Make sure you mention every place where you broke havoc while growing up, son.” Silver chuckled.

“Oh, are there many?” Juvia glanced his way, offering him a smile and Gray rolled his eyes.

“Some.” He told her.

“ _Plenty._ ” Ur snorted. “I can’t tell you how many times I was asked to come to his school because of some prank or altercation. And I only met him when he was nine, imagine before.”

Silver laughed. “Then you ganged up with Lyon and then hell would break loose wherever they went.”

“Juvia will need to hear those stories.” She said, happily.

“Over my dead body.” Gray muttered and then looked at his parents. “What are you doing today?”

“Ultear and I are showing houses to a very difficult couple. I didn’t manage to sell anything to them, so now I’m taking enforcements.” Ur took a sip of her coffee.

“They won’t even know what hit them.” Ultear said, smugly.

“I build the houses and they sell it.” Silver told Juvia with a smile. “That’s how I met Ur, you know? She stormed into my office even after informed the vacancy to be an agent had been filled up. I told her exactly that and she looked me right in the eye and told me to give her a chance and if in two weeks she didn’t sell more than any other agent, I’d never see her again.”

“I had two kids to feed, I was a bit desperate.” Ur said and Juvia nodded.

“And did you?” The blunette asked.

Ur was clearly smug. “Oh yes.”

“She sold four houses, the most expensive ones.” Silver looked at his wife adoringly. “I was already a bit smitten when she burst into my office, but seeing her looking so proud of her accomplishment…”

“Stop being so cheesy, Silver. God.” Ur rolled her eyes, but Gray saw her cheeks pinked up. They had been married for more than a decade and she still looked like they had returned from their honeymoon.

“The rest, is history.” Silver said. “Now, we expanded our business and our children are following our steps. Gray and Lyon are going to be architects like me and Ultear is one of the best sellers in the company.” He was clearly proud.

“Give me another six months, Silver, and I’ll be the best.” Ultear stated, determinate.

Silver nodded at her and then looked to his wife. “That’s our girl.”

“Yes.” Ur glanced at her daughter, lovingly, and then looked at Juvia. “So, you see, we are a family of business men and women. I think a marine biologist around will at least give our granddaughter a chance to see there are other careers.”

They all looked at the little girl, who was much more interested in eating her cookies instead of the boring adult conversation.

“Speaking of her, I’m going up to clean her up. I’ll take her with me to the house, so afterwards we can spend the rest of the day in the park.” Ultear got up from her chair and picked her daughter up. “Say bye-bye, Meredy.”

“Bye-bye.” The little girl waved and everyone else waved back, to her delight.

“She’s so cute.” Juvia told her boyfriend and he nodded.

**#**

The park was as beautiful as Gray remembered and he was quite happy to have Juvia by his side, showing her the sights and telling about shenanigans that happened when he was younger.

“I stopped coming here for years after my mother die.” Gray told his girlfriend and Juvia looked up to him as they kept walking close to the pond.

“Why is that?”

“We used to walk through here when she picked me up from school.” He said and then smiled sadly when they stopped walking. “She used to have bread crumbs for me to feed the ducks.” Gray pointed to the opposite side of the pond. “I was a kid, you know, I thought it was fun.”

Juvia took his hand into hers and rested her head on his upper arm. “Of course you did.”

“Well.” He cleared his throat. “After she died, I was angry with the world and terrified of losing my dad too.” Gray’s look was distant in thought. “He was a wreck, I barely recognized him for a while.”

“Oh, Gray-sama.” Juvia whispered, squeezing his hand.

“He got better, after a while of course, but he wasn’t fully himself until he met Ur.” Gray looked down to Juvia. “I could see in him the father I knew. The problem was that in my mind, Ur and her children had come to steal him from me and I’d be left alone.”

Juvia stepped in front of him, letting go of his hand so she could put her arms around him. “You were a child and your life changed very drastically, misunderstandings were bound to happen.”

“Yeah.” He nodded, his own arms around her. “I think Ur knew my fears because not once she let me feel left aside. It took her a while to even accept going out with my father – and trust me, it took a long time for my father to finally ask her out. I was a bit of a brat at the beginning.” He snorted. “It took me a while to see she wasn’t taking my mother’s place in our lives, but creating a place of her own.”

“That’s beautiful.” Juvia gave him a small smile which he returned.

“After a while I started to call her ‘mom’. We never really spoke about it, I just started it and that was that.”

“Juvia thinks she probably already felt you were one of her children.” She offered.

“Most likely, yes.” Gray nodded. “It all seems a little dramatic, doesn’t it?”

“Your family is as dramatic as any, as far as Juvia knows, of course. We all have to work out our fears and insecurities.” She gave him a peck on the lips. “Sometimes it takes us months, other times it takes us years.”

“That’s true.” He granted her the point. “What are your fears and insecurities.”

“Oh, let’s see.” The blunette seemed to think. “Juvia hates to share. I know sometimes I can be a little possessive.” Gray nodded, having noticed she really liked to claim him when they were in public. “It’s mostly because growing up she rarely had anything of her own and when she does…”

“You want to make sure it stays yours.” Gray finished, understanding her much better.

“Yes.” She nodded. “And Juvia is quite a jealous woman.”

“I bet you are.” He said and she gave him a shy smile. Gray let her grab his hand again so they could resume their walk.

“What about Ultear-san?” Juvia asked. “You don’t speak much of her or Meredy-chan. That little girl surely has a bright hair color, she probably gets from her father, isn’t it right? Seeing Ultear-san and Ur-sama have black hair.” Gray felt his body tense and Juvia probably felt it too because she looked up, frowning and confused. “What’s wrong?”

He sighed. “It’s just… Ultear didn’t have an easy life.”

Understanding dawned on her. “You don’t have to tell me, Gray-sama.” She told him, gently.

Gray thought it over for a moment, deciding if he should tell her or not. And then he remembered that just a few days before, she had trusted him with a big trauma; it would be only fair for you to do the same.

“Ur’s divorce with Ultear’s father wasn’t amicable at all. I think she was five or six, so she remembered a bit of him, but only the good things and growing up she missed him, like I missed my mother, but she went down a different path.” Juvia’s frown deepened. “About five years ago she started to hang with a bad crowd. She became very rebellious, dropped out of college started using drugs.”

“Oh.”

“My parents tried everything, but she vanished one day. Ur was so upset and understandably so.”

Juvia squeezed his hand. “How did she return home? Does it have to do with Meredy-chan?”

“Yes, but not in the way you think it does.” They stopped walking and he turned to face her. “Not that it matters to us and almost no one outside the family knows, but Meredy is not Ultear’s biological daughter.” Juvia was surprised with the revelation, he could tell. “Ultear crashed in a house while she was away from home and she always saw a couple with a baby, buying drugs and they usually crashed there.” Juvia’s eyes widened. “Yeah, not really parents of the year. One of those nights, Ultear saw them get the drugs but the next morning she woke up with a baby crying.

“She went in to check and, sadly, both had passed away. Overdose.” He sighed. “She told me she got Meredy and she was going to leave her at a fire station not too far away, but she was crying so hard, Ultear stopped along the way to buy her some milk, just to get her to shut up.” Gray stopped for a second. “Ultear told me that, when she was being fed, Meredy looked at her and smiled. Her whole self shook with it and for some reason, she knew she couldn’t give her up.”

“Ultear tried to stay away from home because she thought mom and dad wouldn’t have her back, but she couldn’t raise a baby on the street and if she was to do it, she needed to be clean. That’s when she came home, around eighteen months ago.” Gray smiled, sadly. “I can still remember how mom held her close when she got home, how she cried and I rarely see her cry.”

“She made the right decision.” Juvia said.

“Yes.” Gray nodded. “After she explained what happened, mom and dad got Ultear a lawyer and a private investigator to see if Meredy had any family left, she doesn’t. The lawyer said that if Ultear was to get Meredy legally, she’d need to get clean and to have a steady job and even then it could go both ways. While she was in rehab, mom and dad took care of Meredy meanwhile paying the best lawyer to represent them for the adoption. Soon after she was released, Ultear began to work with dad; not as an agent just yet, but as a secretary – she climbed up from there – and she will stay with them until she is back on her feet completely. I expect she’ll move out someday, but for now, she needs to be with her family and she’s doing very well. Both are.”

Juvia smiled widely. “Oh, that is quite a tale, Gray-sama. Juvia is happy things are working for your family. I know it’s only been a day but Juvia really likes them.”

“They like you too, even Meredy, who usually likes no one.” Gray informed her.

“Good.” Juvia said. “Now, shall we come back? We’ve seen quite a bit of the town.”

“Of course.” Gray kissed her.

**#**

While Gray put their luggage in the car, Juvia said her goodbyes; Ur gave her a quick hug and right after, Silver pulled her to a hug.

“It was lovely meeting you, Juvia-chan.” Silver said. “I know now my son is in good hands, but keep an eye on him for me, please.”

Juvia chuckled. “Will do. Don’t worry.” Her attention, then, went to the pink haired girl in Ultear’s arms. “And it was nice meeting _you_ , Meredy-chan. And you, Ultear-san.”

“Likewise.” Ultear nodded.

“Juvia, we are ready to go.” Gray stated and went to hug his father, receiving some pats on the back. Ur was next, hugging her son and kissing his cheek. “See you in a few weeks.”

“Alright. Be careful while driving, please.” Ur released him and took a step back while Gray said goodbye to his niece and Ultear.

“Let’s go.” Gray said and Juvia nodded, taking his hand and she let him lead her to the car.

A minute later, they were waving goodbye to Ur and Silver as Gray drove off.

“Your family is lovely.” Juvia told her boyfriend and Gray smiled.

“Glad you like them. They liked you too.”

Juvia sighed in relief. “Juvia was so nervous! She was almost asking your mother if she could bake some cupcakes in her kitchen.”

Gray laughed. “You should’ve. I know they will like them as much as everyone does.”

“Thank you, Gray-sama.” She said and Gray glanced her before his eyes returned to the road ahead. “I guess we are even, then.”

“Even?” He frowned, confused.

“You met Juvia’s family: Gajeel-kun, and Juvia met yours.”

“That’s right.” He nodded in agreement. “At least we are past this now, knowing our families approve of us.”

“It’s a relief, really.” Juvia said. “I hope we get to come back in a couple of months, Juvia would rather enjoy that.”

“Alright.” They stayed in a comfortable silence for a minute when Gray remembered something his father mentioned. “Oh, almost forgot: my father says he will friend you on Facebook.”

“Aw, that’s nice.”

Gray snorted. “It won’t be as much when he sends you fifteen different videos of baby animals in just one day.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it was only fair to hear about Gray’s background now that we know Juvia’s. Also, I had to make Ultear have some problems so it could kind of reminds the time she was apart from her mother. I hope it was alright. :) Next chapter I promise you fluff!


	14. Neglect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said we’d get fluff, but things went in a steamier direction… *wink wink*

 

Finals week, aka hell week was absolute torture.

Gray and his friends spent every free minute outside the university at the library. Meeting up with Juvia alone that week was even harder. They saw each other in the afternoons at the library to study together and sometimes Gray stopped by the diner to see her.

By the end of the week, they had just two finals to go before they were free to enjoy summer vacation. Gray drove Juvia back to his apartment from the library, both carrying some heavy books in their backpacks.

“I can’t believe we are almost done.” He said, opening the door so she could get inside.

“Juvia is _exhausted_.” The blunette dropped her heavy backpack by his door and Gray did the same. “With her shifts at the diner, she has to study when she gets home to make up to it.”

Gray frowned. Juvia, most nights, arrived home after midnight. “And when do you sleep, exactly?”

The blunette snorted and took off her coat. “Sleep, now _that’s_ funny. We are in college, Gray-sama. We don’t sleep, especially during finals.”

“Well, you need to rest.”

“Two more days and Juvia can rest.” She sighed, a hand on the back of her neck and Gray could see she was about to drop, but tried to get the backpack to retrieve the books she needed to study. “We should set up on the dinner table, Juvia guesses.”

“We just spent the whole afternoon studying at the library.” He pointed out, stepping in front of her when she tried to get the backpack. “How about we get two hours of not thinking about finals?” She opened her mouth to argue, but Gray beat her to the punch. “I quizzed you before we left the library and you got all the right answers. You’ll do alright tomorrow.”

“Juvia has to keep her grades if she wants to keep her scholarship.” She told him. “I-I can’t let my grades slip or-”

“And you won’t.” Gray raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to his girlfriend. “You are at the top of every class, you know everything for tomorrow’s exam. You can afford to relax for a couple of hours. You need to sleep too, especially since I know you study when you arrive from work.”

She sighed. “I really shouldn’t.”

Noticing she was tempted, Gray stepped closer, put his hands on her hips and tried something she couldn’t resist. “And, well… I’ve been feeling neglected, you know?” He shrugged.

“Oh?” Juvia was doubtful. “Juvia doesn’t think she has neglected you for a _second_ since we met.”

“Maybe that’s why I felt this way the past few days.” His hands went from her hips to her buttocks and Juvia knew exactly where he was going with it.

“Is that so?” She put her hands on his shoulders. “How do you propose Juvia rectifies that _awful_ mistake?”

The corners of Gray’s lips curled up a bit. “I think you’ll find of a way.”

“Poor Gray-sama,” Juvia cupped his face, bringing him closer so she could give him a peck on the lips “being put aside for a week so we could study. Bad Juvia.” Gray rolled his eyes but went willingly when she grabbed his hand and led him to his bedroom. “Juvia thinks she might be able to give you a couple of hours.”

He snorted. “How charitable of you.”

Juvia smiled and pulled him down to a kiss, they finally arrived in his bedroom when Juvia pulled his shirt and they had to stop so Gray could raise his arms to take it off completely while Juvia kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her jeans, pushing it down. Gray unbuckled his belt by the time her pants were off and then she pulled him down to kiss him again.

Without breaking the kiss, Gray’s arms circled her, bringing her closer while he kicked his sneakers off. The moment he was done, Gray pushed her towards his bed and lied her down, his body covering hers.

“Is Juvia forgiven?” She asked when Gray started to kiss and nib at her neck, her hands between them, unbuttoning his pants.

“Not yet. Going in the right direction, though.” Gray kissed her lips again while his hand slipped under her panties and Juvia gasped into their kiss when Gray’s fingers started to touch her slowly until she was wet enough so he could slip a finger inside her.

It didn’t take long for Juvia to be moving her hips when Gray inserted another finger and his palm rubbed on her clit with every move, his fingers curling inside her the most amazing ways while Juvia hung onto him, offering him small moans. Gray had pushed down the collar of her t-shirt and her bra so he could get access to her breast.

“Gray-sama.” Juvia breathed, a hand between them, inside his underwear, touching him. She needed him to take off the rest of their clothes. It had been ten days since the last time they were together that way and it was clear both of them had missed greatly.

Neglected indeed, both of them.

“Gray-sama.” Juvia said again, body arching, the nipple Gray was nibbling, slipped away from him so Juvia got the chance to put her hands on his face to make him look at her. He always looked so handsome when they were being intimate, eyes always intense, dark and absolutely wild. She couldn’t help it but to pull him for a quick kiss, biting his lower lip in the process. The moan he gave her turned her insides into jelly. “Clothes off. Condom.”

It took him a second to understand her but he nodded, gave her a peck on the lips before he got up from the bed to take off his pants and underwear. Juvia lost no time and took off her shirt, bra and panties. She saw Gray get a condom from his bedside table and she bit her lower lip watching him rip the package with his teeth and rolled the condom on himself.

She watched him go to the end of the bed and laughed when Gray pulled her by legs so she had her bottom on the edge of the bed and her stomach got filled with butterflies when she saw Gray was smiling because of her laughter. They were about to have sex, but what made her feel greater was the fact he was happy with her.

Gray kissed her, a hand on her breast; Juvia’s legs were wrapped around his waist while his shaft slid over her sex. Juvia was waiting for him to slid inside when he surprised her by saying: “Turn around.”

Juvia blinked, confused for a moment. “What?”

“Hands and knees, Juvia.” With a last kiss, Gray put his hands on her hips and gently turned her around. Juvia wasn’t stranger to the position but they hadn’t had sex that way yet, it wasn’t a favorite of hers – she preferred to see her lover’s face – but she knew she would enjoy it with him.

He adjusted her legs farther apart to his liking while Juvia supported her upper body weight on her elbows, hair sprawled all over her back and she waited.

Juvia gasped when she felt a hand on her ass cheek and the other on the small of her back. The one on her ass slipped between her folders, his thumb circling her clit a few times and Juvia moaned.

“A fucking vision.” Juvia thought he heard him say, but wasn’t sure; her attention went to the fact that she could feel the tip of his shaft brush her entrance and then he slowly pushed inside. She sighed when she felt he was all in and started to move her hips to give him some incentive. “Fuck.” Gray whispered mid-laugh and let her do that a few times. “That feels good.”

“Gray-sama.” Juvia looked over her shoulder and she saw his dark eyes intensify with her next word. “Please.”

The next thing Juvia knew, Gray’s hands held on to her hips with extraordinary strength so he could move as fast and hard as he could.

“Oh, god.” Juvia whispered to herself when she realized Gray was hitting even deeper than ever before, brushing the wonderful spot inside her.

The angle changed when Gray leaned her way, his chest touching her back, one of his hands supporting his weight and the other grabbed her breast, rolling her nipple with his fingers. Gray kissed her shoulder, then her neck.

“Touch yourself.” Gray whispered in her ear and Juvia all but melted with his husky tone, but did what was told and her fingers went between her legs, above where they met and she started to rub her clit the way she knew it would get her off faster. Her body tensed and so did her inner muscles, startling Gray for a moment and making him falter his movements for a moment. “ _Fuuuuck_.” Juvia let out a breathy chuckle with his reaction, earning a light slap on her bottom for it. It surprised her but what surprised her more was the fact she rather enjoyed it. “You keep doing that and this will end soon.” He panted in her ear.

She looked over her shoulder. “Good.” Juvia started to touch herself more intently and told her boyfriend. “Harder.”

Juvia managed to see Gray’s eyes darken even more, a line formed between his eyebrows showing his focus and she felt his hand leave her breast so he could put both hands on her hips, holding her in place. The rest, was all feeling.

He was moving, touching her in all the right places while her fingers stimulated herself. She couldn’t hold back the sounds coming from her, the sounds their flesh hitting, Gray’s groans, the feeling of her body hot all over.

“Oh.” Juvia breathed. “Oh, oh, oh.” She could feel it boiling in her lower stomach, she was so close to her high, she just needed a little push. “ _Gray._ ”

“Urgh.” Gray groaned. “Fuck, let go, Juvia.” He panted in her ear. “Now.” He hit just the perfect spot inside her and Juvia’s body exploded from within, she moaned loudly when her whole body tensed and shook, her elbows gave him her toes curled and she held on to the sheets.

Gray cussed, feeling her orgasm while he kept moving behind her and Juvia put her hand his head when he bit her shoulder when he came. A few moments later, Gray put his arms around her and they lied on the bed on their sides, Gray still deep inside her but neither of them minded.

“Well.” Gray told her a minute later when their breathing wasn’t so labored any longer and he had exited her. “You are almost forgiven.”

Juvia giggled. “Didn’t you stop feeling neglected?”

He snorted. “I remember I was promised at least two hours.”

“Right.” Juvia smiled. “What do you plan on doing with the rest of the time?”

“We’ll figure something out.” Gray kissed the back of her neck and Juvia chuckled.

“You know…” Juvia said and Gray hummed to let her know he was listening. “The slap was new…”

By the way his breath got caught, Juvia could see perfectly in her mind he was turning red – her own cheeks not farther behind.

“I got a little… carried away.” He mumbled. “I’m sorry. Did it bother you? I won’t do it again if it did.”

Juvia cleared her throat. “It wasn’t a bother, it was quite fun, actually.”

It took him a few seconds to answer. “Good to know.”

**#**

“You know, you led Juvia to believe we would spend the rest of the two hours very differently.” Juvia said; both were lying on his bed, her body pressed against his side which was distracting since she was just wearing one of his shirts.

After a few minutes to calm their breaths and heartbeats, Gray pulled Juvia to his shower and convinced her to stay the night – the original plan was to stay there for a few hours, revising their notes and then go home.

“Well, it’s my time and I decide what we will do. I decided we are going to watch a movie.” Gray told her as he looked up for the movie he wanted to watch on his laptop.

“Shouldn’t we go the living room?” The blunette wondered. “The TV would be better to watch the movie.”

“The cable that connects the TV to the laptop is faulty.” He said and a few seconds later, he found the movie he wanted to watch. “Here we go.”

Half an hour later into the most boring movie of all times, Gray glanced down to Juvia and saw she was sleeping peacefully next to him, and he grinned.

He didn’t like at all when earlier she told him she studied after going back home from the diner and had little time to sleep or rest in general. That wasn’t healthy at all and it worried him she would get herself sick.

So, he quickly formed his plan.

First, he would make her loosen up by having a good round of sex since he knew she usually got very lazy after – and he had been missing her..

Second, a hot shower would loosen her muscles even more.

And finally, third: watch an awfully boring movie until her tiredness won her over and she’d fall asleep.

Gray gently pushed her away so not to wake her and got up from the bed to put the laptop away and then returned to the bed. He took a moment to watch her and listen to her soft breathing.

It was understandable she’d want to study more because of her scholarship and Gray wouldn’t have interfered if a) she had a healthy study plan and b) took a few breaks so she wouldn’t go insane.

Gray knew she was ready for the next day’s exam otherwise he’d stay up with her helping her study, but she was so nervous he was sure she would’ve spent the whole night reviewing her notes.

He wasn’t going to let her get sick because she was nervous.

He’d probably have to explain himself the next day but that was a problem for the morning.

**#**

“Oh my god.” The loud shriek and the movement from the bed woke Gray up.

“What is it?” Gray was still groggy and confused from his sleep.

“ _We fell asleep_!” Juvia was franticly looking for her clothes scattered on the floor. “It’s morning! Juvia needed to study last night!”

Gray’s mouth finally caught up his brain. “Juvia, it’s 6 a.m. and your exam is _11_. You have plenty of time to get ready, to look at your notes again…” She had started putting her pants back on when Gray got up and walked her direction. “You needed to rest. I couldn’t let you get exhausted, it could jeopardize your answers today.”

“But…” Juvia tried but Gray didn’t let her.

“I did this because I knew you were ready for it.” He explained. “Now you can go have your exam feeling rested instead of in a brink of a meltdown.”

Juvia finally stopped looking so freaked out. “Juvia was… rather tired.”

“You don’t say.” Gray said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. “You would have done the same thing if it were me.” He pointed out and Juvia agreed. “Since I’m up now already, I’m gonna make something to eat while you take a look at your notes.” He gave her a peck on the lips and walked out of the bedroom.

Juvia stopped to think about it and realized she wasn’t so tired anymore. The past few days she barely had the time to do other things other than study, even if she was in need of sleep. That night had recharged her batteries.

Gray was in the kitchen, taking some things from the fridge when she stepped in and hugged him from behind and kissed his shoulder blade.

“You are a very good boyfriend.” She said.

“No, I’m not. I lack in my boyfriend duties sometimes.” He snorted. “But I try.”

“It’s all Juvia can ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, when I was halfway through the chapter, I realized this reeeeally sounds like some things Gajeel and Levy would go through, but I went with it anyway because their behavior isn’t really that OOC.
> 
> I mean, Juvia is in college because of a scholarship she can’t lose, otherwise she’d either drown in debt or not get to finish her studies. Gray comes from a family with money, but Juvia is on her own so she has to take care of herself. She knows how important keeping her grades the best, is. I think anyone would go a little overboard with that kind of incentive.
> 
> And, well, Gray wouldn’t let her get to a state she’s completely exhausted. I think everyone agrees people need breaks and Juvia wasn’t get any so he helped her out.
> 
> In the end: what the hell, right? Some couples are quite similar in some situations. I hope you guys understand. :)


	15. Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is just a small chapter to transition to the next part of this story. :)

 

Gray sat in his car outside Juvia’s apartment, the papers his teacher gave him were on the passenger’s seat and Gray knew he had a decision to make. He was going to spend a week at his parents’ summer home with his girlfriend and some of their friends would join them in a few days but even so, he needed to make a decision.

He had spent an hour on the phone with his parents and they had voiced their approval, but he needed to talk to Juvia before he truly decided anything.

Sighing, Gray texted her so she could open the door for him and when he received a text back, he got out of his car and walked towards the building, realizing she had buzzed him in.

Before knocking on her door, Gray took a deep breath, knowing it would be a difficult conversation. He finally did and waited, knowing she’d be there just in a few seconds to open the door.

“Gray-sama!” Juvia beamed in happiness when she saw him and Gray couldn’t help it but to smile at her. She pulled him for a kiss and Gray reciprocated it, pushing her inside and closing the door by kicking it, not interested in stopping kissing his girlfriend. They hadn’t seen each other for two days and he missed her. “Juvia is almost done packing.” She said when they came up for air.

“Good.” He cleared his throat but didn’t loosen his arms from around her and she was more interested on kissing his jaw than finish packing. “Hm… Juvia?” She looked up. “Come sit down for a minute.” Gray took her hand and pulled her towards her couch. “I need to talk to you.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Juvia frowned but let herself get pulled and sat on the couch, Gray following her. She was clearly worried when she asked. “Is something wrong?”

He sighed and took a moment to have the courage to speak. “You know what happened between Daphne and me last year.” She seemed confused with why he brought the subject up, but nodded. “You didn’t see me, then. I was… Well, Natsu once defined me as a _‘little bitch’_. Okay, not just once.” Gray snorted and Juvia couldn’t help it but to roll her eyes at how odd their friendship was. “I was moody, angry and determined to go away for a while.” He told her. “I saw an ad for an exchange program for six months and I thought ‘Hey, six months away sounds good right now’. But the ad was old and when I went to sign up, they said I could drop my name but it would take a year to open again. I figured I would still be feeling miserable.” He cleared his throat and he could feel his cheeks get hotter. “I never thought I would find you.”

Juvia smiled and kissed his cheek. “Juvia is glad we found each other.”

“Me too.” The corners of Gray’s lips curled up a little. “But the thing is, Juvia… In two months a new semester starts and since I gave them my name last year, they saw I have the grades for it and they asked me to go to have a talk and… They said if I’m interested, I would be able to study a semester abroad. In Alvarez.”

Gray watched her expression and sat the moment Juvia realized the implications of his words.

“In _Alvarez_.” She breathed.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “The University I would attend is a reference around the world when it comes to architecture, one of the best. They said they could get me a student visa in a month or so but I have to give an answer in a few days at least.” Juvia blinked and Gray saw she was still confused. “My parents said they are okay with it if I want to go but I want your opinion.”

“Oh.” It was the only thing Juvia said for a few moments. “A _semester_ , you say?”

“Yes.” Gray nodded.

“That’s… six months.” She said, dumbly.

“It is.” Gray gave her a few seconds to think. “I would have to leave at least two weeks before classes.”

Juvia seemed to think about it for a few moments. “If you are talking to Juvia about this, it seems you are leaning towards going.”

She had a point. “I want your opinion.”

The blunette looked away from him and Gray was apprehensive with how long she took to speak. “I… I don’t want you to go.” She whispered. “But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

Gray was confused. “What?”

She sighed and looked at his boyfriend. “Juvia feels selfish; she doesn’t want to stay away from you for six months. I would rather have you here, every day, with _me_.” Juvia took his hand. “But you said so yourself, it’s one of the best universities in the world in your field and it will look great on your record to have gone there even for just a semester.”

“But you don’t want me to go.” He pointed out.

“Oh, no, far from it.” She shook her head. “Being away is going to be really, _really_ hard.”

“Juvia…” Gray sighed.

“But you have to go. You can’t lose an opportunity like that and if for some reason you do not go because of something Juvia said, you might regret it and Juvia would never forgive herself.” Juvia told him. “If it were me, it would be hard to be away for six months, but it would be an opportunity Juvia couldn’t refuse. And neither can you.”

He wanted to make sure. “You are telling me to go.”

“Juvia is telling you to go.” The blunette sighed and she tensed. “If you go… what about us?”

“Huh?” Gray frowned in confusion.

“ _Us._ ” She clarified. “It _is_ six months away.”

“What about-?” Gray finally understood her meaning and he panicked a little, putting a hand on her cheek. “Oh. Oh, no, no, no. _No._ Juvia, I have _zero_ intention of breaking up.”

She bit her lower lip. “We have been together for four months; we will be apart longer than we’ve been dating.”

“Fuck that.” He told her and pulled her for a kiss. “Six months will fly by.”

“Juvia highly doubts that.” She gave him a peck on the lips. “Two months until you leave, then?”

He winced. “I would have to leave earlier than that to get to know the town, the university, to get an apartment…”

“Oh.”

Sensing her disappointment, Gray sighed. “I know this is not ideal for us, but…”

Juvia nodded. “You have to go, yes.” She cupped his face with her hands. “I’m sorry to tell you but Juvia will call you _every day_.” She pulled him for a quick kiss. “And she will probably be _very_ needy in those calls.”

“Yeah, I know.” Gray snorted softly and rolled his eyes playfully. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“I’m going to miss you.” Juvia whispered, smiling sadly.

“I will too.” He told her. “But I’m not gone now. We have a week at the beach and then at least three more before I even have to leave. Let’s leave getting emotional about it when it’s time for me to leave. Let’s enjoy the time we have.”

Juvia sighed. “Alright.” She kissed him. “I will go finish packing. You should call your parents and tell them what you decided.”

“Yeah.” He nodded and watched as Juvia got up from the couch and went to her bedroom while Gray sighed in relief.

That had gone better than he thought it would be. Juvia had been understanding, thankfully, he would have hated to see her cry. It was something he had been thinking about the past two days and the more he thought about it, more he thought it was a good idea.

Gray grabbed his cellphone and dialed his father, who answered in just a few rings. “Hey, dad. I… I think am going to Alvarez, after all.”

**#**

Juvia’s eyes widened when she got inside Gray’s family beach house. The place was beautiful with its high windows and glass doors, simple but beautiful furniture in blue tones and when she stepped out to the balcony, she noticed how close to the sea they were. The water was so blue and beautiful, the sand pure white and with the sun setting, Juvia could appreciate the sight in a very unique way. “Okay, _how rich_ are you?” She asked her boyfriend.

“I am not rich.” Gray said and Juvia looked at him in disbelief. “ _My parents_ are.”

Juvia scoffed. “That is what rich people say.” She walked around the balcony, noting there wasn’t another house close by. “Juvia would think this side of the beach would be packed with summer homes, since it looks so beautiful.” She pointed out. “Instead, the only one Juvia can see is very far away over there, no houses on the other side.”

“Oh.” Gray stepped behind her, slipping his arms around her. “My grandmother bought this I don’t know, seventy years ago? It was even before she knew my grandfather and the beach wasn’t well known, then, so she got a pretty good deal. Dad sold some of the land to start his business twenty-five years ago with like, triple what my grandmother bought the whole land for, but not all of it. When he started to make more money, built this house. He could’ve sold the rest but he wanted privacy and he said he had three kids who would want to build their own houses here, so he kept it.” Gray told her. “Lyon, Ultear and I flipped coins and thankfully, if I ever want to build anything here, I get to build it on over there.” He pointed to the left of the house where the beach took a turn and it was quite far away from where they were. “They get to build it next to this one and get mom and dad as guests all the time.”

Juvia looked over her shoulder. “Oh my god, what even _is_ your family.” She said. “When Silver-sama said your family was of business men and women Juvia didn’t believe it but now…”

Gray laughed. “Yeah, I know. It’s weird.”

“You could have become a snob because of money.” Juvia turned around in his arms and put her own arms around his shoulders. “Trust me, Juvia has met many. Instead, here you are, dating the poor orphan waitress scholarship girl.” She teased him.

He rolled his eyes. “Like I told you, it’s not _my_ money and my dad always gave me what I needed, sometimes what I wanted, but he never spoiled me. I think the jerks you met were spoiled asses.”

“True.” Juvia giggled.

“Besides, my dad is just _well-off_ compared to Lucy’s father. He is freaking loaded. You should see his house.” Gray told her. “My dad’s is like a cottage next to the Heartfilia’s mansion. Lucy’s not spoiled either.”

“Thankfully, otherwise she would have missed even meeting her boyfriend.” Juvia chuckled – Natsu was also struggling like her when it came to money. “And you would have been deprived of your best friend.”

“You know, sometimes you talk about Natsu and me as if we are some kind of best-friend soulmates or something.” Gray told her. “I can barely stand the guy.”

“Sure.” Juvia laughed and Gray frowned. “You two are the cutest male best friends Juvia has ever seen. You get all insulting to one another, fight but when it comes down to it, you are almost brothers.”

“We… are _not_.” For some reason Gray felt insulted. Or embarrassed, he didn’t know which, exactly.

Juvia was clearly amused. “Juvia bets you have already told him about your semester away on Alvarez.”

“No…” Gray was about to tell her she was wrong when he remembered the day he found out he couldn’t go to the exchange program and told Natsu he put his name for next year’s. “…t now.” He emended the word. “I told him when I put my name on the list, nothing ever since.”

She smirked. “You were going to tell him first when he gets here in two days, weren’t you?”

Gray narrowed his eyes. “You know what, let me show you the rest of the house. You are getting really annoying with that _‘I know it all’_ look.” He grabbed her hand and led her inside, mumbling. “You _clearly_ don’t need money to be annoying.” Juvia laughed at his words but let the subject drop.

**#**

When he got home, Gray would make sure to give his father a hug for having the most amazing idea in the world to have the house built in such a quiet place. People barely walked by the beach since it was so far away and when they did, it was easy to spot them from afar.

The house being so private had made Gray and Juvia enjoy themselves quite a lot during the two days they had the place for themselves.

Their second day there, Gray had started to kiss Juvia on the balcony and when things grew hotter, instead of pulling him inside the house, Juvia had led him to the lounge chair she had been sunbathing on earlier that day and _holy crap_. Gray didn’t know he had wanted to have sex outside so badly until after they had done it.

If Gray had a bucket list, he would have to cross that out of it.

Juvia had blushed hard when they were gathering their clothes, which was incredibly funny for Gray: she was the one who had condoms alongside with her tanning products in the necessaire she carried around everywhere she went, yet, she blushed to have had sex outside even when there was no one else for miles.

Juvia’s necessaire proved to be _very_ useful for them. It seemed they wanted to christen every room whenever they were in the house. They had gone to the town, walked on the beach and swam on the sea but the moment they were back at the house, they couldn’t get enough of each other.

She told him it was the fact Gray would be going away soon and they wanted to make the best of their time and Gray shrugged with a ‘maybe’. In his mind, he thought they were just two hormonal young adults with a very empty house and no neighbors to bother.

Sadly, their days alone came to an end when their friends arrive, making a ruckus as usual. Cana, Erza and Levy were the first ones to arrive, followed by Natsu and Lucy. After Gajeel arrived everyone got settled into their rooms, they went straight to the beach.

Gray pulled Natsu aside and told him about his plan to study in Alvarez for a semester and after a series of questions from his friend to guarantee it wasn’t a hasty decision, the pink haired man finally nodded his approval. Gray looked around the beach and saw his girlfriend next to Gajeel, but looking at him with a knowing smile.

“ _Aw, man_.” Gray groaned and Natsu frowned. “Shit.”

“What?”

“I just proved Juvia right.” He complained. “She’ll never let me forget about this.”

Natsu snorted. “Oh yes. I don’t know what you did, but be prepared to be reminded of it every time she needs to prove a point about how she’s right.”

“I know.” Gray sighed in defeat. “Damn it, why do I keep giving her ammo against me?”

“If you figure this one out, share with the rest of mankind.” The pink haired man laughed and slapped his friend on the back before he jogged to meet his girlfriend, who was playing volley with the other girls.

Gray walked to where Juvia was standing on her own, Gajeel had gone swimming, and she looked too full of herself. “Don’t even say it.”

“Juvia wasn’t going to.” The blunette shrugged, but giggled and Gray couldn’t help it but to smile a little as well.

**#**

“I can’t believe tomorrow we return to civilization.” Cana complained after taking a sip of her beer. They were outside, seated around a fire and just enjoying the night, exchanging stories and laughing. “I don’t know why you don’t live here all the time, Gray. This is great.”

Gray chuckled. “I don’t think I could. I would get crazy with the silence and so would you, after a while.”

“I just would have to bring someone to entertain me, like you brought Juvia and stayed on your own for two days before we got here.” Cana smirked.

Gray narrowed his eyes at the brunette when he felt Juvia hide her face on his arm, embarrassed. Even he felt his cheeks get warmer, but he wouldn’t back away from Cana. He couldn’t give the witch power over him, otherwise she’d never give it up.

“Speaking of that, you should probably change the sheets on your bed, Cana. We _entertained_ each other too much we didn’t change all of them.”

Cana looked disgusted while Natsu laughed out loud and the girls tried to hide their giggles; Juvia whispered a horrified _‘Gray-sama!_ ’. “Fuck, Gray, I have been sleeping on that bed for the past _four days_ , you ass.”

His smirk was evil. “Good luck sleeping on it tonight.”

“I was kind of bummed you were going to take a semester away, but now I am glad I won’t see your stupid face for six months.” Cana showed him her tongue. “Can you go tomorrow?”

“God, please do.” Natsu groaned. “I could use a vacation from your ugly-ass face as soon as possible.”

He rolled his eyes good heartedly, knowing they were just joking and that they would miss him as much as he would miss them. “I will be happy to spend six months away from you. Maybe I’ll extend that to _a year_.”

“Good.” Cana nodded.

“Amen.” Natsu raised his arms and looked up to the sky.

Juvia put a hand on his jaw, making him look down to her, her blue eyes serious “Don’t you dare.”

Gray smirked. “Just six months, I promise.” She nodded and gave him a peck on the lips.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Cana said and the couple looked her way. “Enough with the kissing, the touching, the eye sex. Laxus has been away for a stupid month for his stupid intern program and I am _thirsty_.”

“So _that’s_ why you are being a pain in the ass more than usual.” Gray said and Natsu laughed.

“Says the guy who was just _sunshine and rainbows_ while he spent eight months in a dry-spell, huh?” Cana told him, sarcastically. “Up until Juvia appeared and took one for the team, you were being unbearable, Gray. All moody and annoying. Why do you think we all wanted you two to hook up?”

“Juvia is glad to have taken one for the team.” The blunette said and Gray looked down to her, betrayal in his eyes while she just giggled and Gray almost laughed, but kept a straight face.

“I can’t believe this. Even _you_ are against me?” Gray asked. “I say this semester abroad came right on time.”

“You will miss us, Gray.” Lucy said, head resting on her boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Just admit it.” Erza chuckled.

“Never.” He snorted and frowned when he saw Gajeel and Levy come from inside the house with red cheeks and hand them the beers they had gone inside to get. Gray looked down to Juvia, who had noticed it as well and she gave him a look, saying she would ask Gajeel about it later. “Well, here’s to your very needed six-month vacation from me.” Gray raised his beer and the other did the same, while smiling.

“Hallelujah.” Natsu cheered and Gray rolled his eyes.

They were joking around, but Gray would truly miss them. He had told Juvia six months would fly by, but he wasn’t so certain. It would be a challenge, that was for sure, especially to stay away from Juvia, but he could do it.

Juvia kissed his cheek and whispered. “Don’t worry, we can do it. Like Juvia told you, you will get _lots_ of needy phone calls from her.”

Gray chuckled but didn’t tell her how he would be just as needy to get those calls.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is my way of making Gray spend six months away from Juvia. HAHA but without him being a jerk and completely leaving her behind. And don’t worry, we’ll see more about Juvia handling his semester away next chapter.
> 
>  
> 
>  


	16. Wish You Were Here

 

“Don’t cry. I hate it when you cry.” Gray kissed the top of his girlfriend’s head while they hugged. He was leaving for his semester abroad and his flight was in just a couple of hours. “You promised you wouldn’t cry.”

He had spent two weeks with his parents and the last week before traveling, with his friends and Juvia, and even being prepared, it didn’t stop her from cling onto him.

“Juvia isn’t crying.” She sniffed and looked up and even though she wasn’t crying, she was close enough. “Remember what we agreed on?” He nodded but the blunette reminded him anyways. “Texts everyday even if it’s just to say hello.”

“Yeah.”

Juvia tip toed and gave him a peck on the lips. “Calls every couple of days, at least.”

“I know.” Gray agreed. “Six months will be over before we know it.”

“No, it won’t.” She sighed. “But we will make do.”

“We will.” Gray kissed her. “Now remember what I asked you to do?”

“Yes.” Juvia chuckled. “Juvia is forbidden to get into trouble.”

“Please.” He groaned. “I can’t be in another country while you are in trouble here.”

“Juvia doesn’t get into trouble.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You, on the other hand…”

“I have no idea of what you are talking about.” Gray chuckled when Juvia pulled him to a kiss.

_‘This is the last call for flight 413 from Magnolia to Vistarion. Please, head to gate 7B.’_

Gray sighed once they broke the kiss. He touched her forehead with his. “I have to go.”

“I know.” Juvia whispered, eyes closed. “Call me when you get there.”

“I will.” He kissed her one more time before he grabbed the backpack he had put on the floor next to his feet. “Bye.” He gave her a quick kiss and went to the line to get into the restricted area of the airport.

“Good-bye.” Juvia whispered.

Right before it was his turn to get in, he looked in her direction and saw Juvia wave slowly and he did the same, missing her already.

**#**

_“How was your first day?”_ Juvia asked and Gray groaned as he looked at his phone, where he was having a videoconference with his girlfriend.

“I hate first days.” He said, lying on his bed – he had been in Vistarion for a week, then and he was ready to go to bed, but not without calling Juvia, like she insisted, after his first day. “I don’t know anyone here so it sucked. At least the classes were alright.”

 _“You have to be open to make new friends, Gray-sama.”_ Juvia chuckled and smiled, making his heart flutter. Damn it, he missed her already. _“I know you rather have our friends from Magnolia with you, but since you can’t, you should get to know people while you are there.”_

“Argh.” He complained. “I hate knowing people. They never meet our expectations.”

 _“Well,”_ Juvia tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear and offered him a sweet smile _“you got to know Juvia. Did she meet your expectations?”_

Gray snorted. “You are different.”

 _“How so?”_ She raised one eyebrow.

“You were different from the first moment I met you.” He admitted. “I had no idea why, then.”

 _“You were different too.”_ Juvia told him and he couldn’t help it but to curl his lips a bit, trying to hide a smile. He coughed, trying to change the subject – the touchy-feely stuff wasn’t really something he was good at.

“So, what is happening to everyone? Any news?” He asked, curious.

 _“Oh, remember when Juvia told you Gajeel-kun was going on a date with Levy-san?”_ Juvia was clearly excited and Gray nodded. _“It is happening as we speak. Juvia cannot believe Gajeel-kun is actually dating someone she approves for once. You should see the women he was involved with before.”_ She wrinkled her nose. _“Not nice.”_

“It’s their first date, anything could happen.” Gray pointed out. “They might not want to have a second one.”

 _“Not everyone gets to watch the Harpies on their first date.”_ Juvia chuckled. _“Juvia invested_ a lot _into that night. She was super nervous.”_

“You were?” He was impressed. “You didn’t look or acted nervous.”

 _“Juvia didn’t want to make a fool out of herself.”_ The blunette shrugged. _“She had one shot to make that night work, she couldn’t stutter. Her heart, though, was beating so hard inside her chest…”_

“I was nervous too.” Gray admitted. “I hadn’t been on a date in so long. But you were so… adamant about it. I thought ‘hey, what’s the worse it can happen?’ and here we are.” He sighed, pretending to be unhappy with the outcome.

 _“Gray-sama!”_ Juvia pouted, joking alongside with him. _“You were the one who kissed Juvia, don’t forget that.”_

“I haven’t.” He chuckled. “It was a good first date, wasn’t it?”

 _“The best.”_ She said and yawned.

“You should go to sleep.” Gray said. “I know there is a two-hour difference and it’s late here, over there is even worse.”

_“Juvia wants to keep talking to you, Gray-sama.”_

“I would like that too, but both of us need some rest. I have my second day tomorrow and I am not looking forward to that.” He muttered, annoyed. “At least you know most of the people you’ll have class with.”

Juvia smiled. _“Listen to me: get to know your colleagues. Juvia wants you here, but since she can’t, she doesn’t want you on your own over there.”_

“Fine, fine.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ll try.”

 _“That’s all Juvia’s asking.”_ She nodded, her eyes softening. _“Good night, Gray-sama. Talk to you tomorrow.”_

“Good night, Juvia.” He pressed the red button to end the conference and he sighed. If he were in Magnolia, he’d be lying next to her, listening to her soft breathing as she fell asleep. Since he wasn’t, though, he’d have to sleep on his own for six months and try to do as she said.

The next day, he would try to know his colleagues.

**#**

Gray closed the door of his apartment when his guest was inside and he sighed mentally. Jerome and Gray had a project together and they decided to go to Gray’s place, since Jerome had a very noisy roommate and they needed to concentrate.

Jerome was a tall man, Gray’s age and he had a neutral expression. He had orange eyes and unkempt, shoulder-length blonde hair. He wasn’t half-bad in Gray’s opinion and the only guy he could stand hang out with. Jerome wasn’t as chatty as the others and that suited Gray just fine.

Better than that idiot Invel Yura, who had the most ridiculous competition with Gray since he proved to be smarter. Asshole.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Gray asked, putting his backpack on the couch. “Water, soda, beer?”

“Beer would be nice.” Jerome shrugged and Gray nodded, going to the kitchen to get himself and his guest a beer and when he returned to the living room, the blonde had the digital photo frame Juvia gave him as a farewell gift. Of course, she got more pictures of herself than of his friends to, and he quoted her ‘make any girl who visited him, know he had a girlfriend’. Gray had rolled his eyes but accepted the gift. He really didn’t care if she had only put pictures of herself, she was beautiful and he missed her. “Friends of yours?”

He glanced at the picture and he saw it was one of most of his friends, before he met Juvia, at a party. Natsu had his arm around Gray’s shoulder, Lucy had her arms around her boyfriend, Cana was drinking a beer, Erza stood next to the group, smiling, Loke on their other side, mid-laugh.

“Yeah.” He nodded and gave Jerome the beer. “Good friends.”

“Hm.” The blonde nodded and he was about to put the frame away when the picture changed to a picture of Juvia in one of her competitions – she didn’t have many pictures since before dating him, most from her ice skating competitions. “Idol of yours?” Jerome had his eyebrows raised in question.

Gray snorted. “That too. She’s my girlfriend, actually.”

It was Jerome’s turn to snort. “Sure she is.” He rolled his eyes and muttered to himself. “Of course I got paired up with the crazy foreigner.”

“She _is_ my girlfriend.” Gray frowned. “You don’t believe me?”

“I mean, look at _her_.” He pointed at the picture, that changed to another of Juvia, she was at the beach – he had taken that picture when they were at his parents’ summer home and she looked beautiful, looking carefree and laughing at something he had said to her. “Look at _you._ You are not half bad, but you are a six, maybe a seven and she’s a ten. Sorry, but this doesn’t make sense.”

Gray was feeling very insulted. Who did Jerome think he was to think Gray couldn’t get a beautiful girl like Juvia? “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Gray fished his phone from his pocket and unlocked the screen – the screensaver was a picture of Juvia as well, she had set it up before he left and he secretly liked it and didn’t change – and went to his gallery. “I can _not_ believe I have to prove my girlfriend is my girlfriend.” He whispered angrily to himself and chose a picture they took a few days before he left, one she had taken and they were kissing. “Here.” He showed it to Jerome, who frowned and looked from his phone to the frame, comparing the two blunettes. “Do you believe me now?”

“How…?” Jerome looked up. “Well, color me impressed.”

Gray rolled his eyes. “Can we drop this now and do the assignment?” He got his phone from the other man’s hand and put it back in his pocket. “Jeez.”

Getting his notebook and a book from his backpack, Jerome started to look for the page of their subject when he stopped and looked at Gray. “How did you do it, exactly? Did you exhausted her or…?”

“Fuck.” Gray groaned. “Look, she’s the one who asked me out, actually.”

“No way.” The blonde shook his head. “I’m sorry, there’s no way this happened.”

“Oh, shut up.” Gray said and took a sip of his beer. “If you don’t believe what I say, why do you ask?”

“This is so weird.” Jerome drank his beer. “Now tell me, of these lovely ladies” he pointed to another picture of Gray’s friends “which ones are single and more likely to come visit you?”

Gray couldn’t help but to laugh. “Oh, you wouldn’t be able to handle any of them.”

“Feisty girls. Even better.” Jerome said and Gray snorted and before he knew, he was sharing stories from his gang back in Magnolia, the assignment forgotten for the time being and for the first time in a month, he didn’t feel as lonely as before.

**#**

“He called me a _six_ , Juvia.” Gray said and watched his girlfriend through the webcam as she laughed at his story. “I’m not a six. Am I?” He was actually worried, as crazy as that sounded.

 _“Juvia never thought you would be this vain, Gray-sama.”_ Juvia had her back to him, she was facing her wardrobe and looked over her shoulder, at the camera.

“That’s because you were called a ten.” He mumbled. “If someone calls you a six, let’s see if you are not vain as well.”

 _“Juvia’s not used of being called beautiful.”_ She shrugged and returned her attention to her wardrobe. _“She only started being called that when she began to perform, she knows she looks good when she does. Before she was just a klutz. Still is.”_ The blunette took a dress from her wardrobe and put it in front of her body to see how it looked. “ _Don’t worry, Gray-sama, Jerome-san was probably joking, you are not a six. You are very much a ten.”_

Gray frowned, ignoring her last sentence. “What do you mean you are not used to be called beautiful?”

 _“It’s alright, Gray-sama.”_ She smiled. _“Juvia is aware of the way she looks.”_

“I don’t think you are.” Gray couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she took off the towel she had around her body and started to put the small black dress and he sighed – it had been a month since he had any action and seeing her like that was good, but torture. “Jerome was right about something, you are a ten.”

 _“Sure, Gray-sama.”_ Juvia snorted and turned to the camera, looking down to the dress. _“How is this dress?”_ She turned around herself so he could have a better view.

Gray’s mind wandered for a moment as he saw the fabric hug her body perfectly, tightening in the right places and of course she looked great.

“I think the first one you tried looked better, perhaps you should try that one again.” It was the third dress she tried on and even though she looked good in all of them, Gray made up something wrong with it so she would change.

It wasn’t the higher point of his life and he wasn’t proud of himself, but after a month he needed new material for his lonely moments.

 _“Juvia doesn’t have time to change.”_ She groaned. _“Cana-san will be here any minute. What’s wrong with this one?”_

Seeing her distress over getting ready, Gray decided to tell her the truth. “Nothing, actually. It looks really good on you. They all did.”

 _“Then why…?”_ Her frown changed and her face became red once she realized why he had told her to change. _“Gray-sama! Did… did you…?”_ His own cheeks warmed up but he shrugged in a noncommittal way. “ _Oh my god_.”

“Isn’t my fault you started to strip in front of the camera!” He tried to defend himself. “I miss watching you do that in person.”

Her demeanor softened with his words and she stepped closer to her notebook. _“Juvia misses it as well. Misses you.”_ Gray smiled sadly. _“One month down, five to go.”_

“Yeah.” He sighed. “You should get ready to go out with the girls.”

 _“Are you sure you are okay with Juvia going out tonight?”_ She asked.

“Yes.” Gray rolled his eyes. “Cana is right, you haven’t gone out since I moved.”

 _“Juvia doesn’t like to go out without you.”_ She pouted. _“She misses you.”_

“All I did was to stay by the bar and wait for you while you danced.” He snorted. “Go and pretend I’m at the bar waiting for you and have a good time. One of us has to.”

 _“Alright.”_ The blunette sighed and looked at his image on her screen. _“Juvia is very proud of you for making a new friend, Gray-sama.”_

“I didn’t make a new friend.” He frowned. “He’s _no_ t my friend.”

It was Juvia’s turn to roll her eyes. _“If you let him, he might become one.”_

“I don’t know if I can be friends with someone who thinks I’m a six.” Gray joked and Juvia laughed.

_“And what score do you think Natsu-san would give you?”_

Gray chuckled – Natsu would most certainly give Gray an even lower score. “Point taken.” He watched her for a moment. “Text me when you get home, okay? I don’t care what time it is.”

 _“Okay.”_ Juvia nodded and said softly. _“Good night, Gray-sama.”_

“Good night, Juvia.”

**#**

**To: Juvia**

_15:03: I’m bored._

_15:03: This class is so boring._

**From: Juvia**

_15:04: Poor Gray-sama. XD You shouldn’t be texting, though. You might get caught._

**To: Juvia**

_15:04: I know I shouldn’t but I’m too bored and everyone is silent just pretending to be somewhere else._

_15:05: My imagination is pretty awful so I’d rather text you._

_15:05: What are you doing?_

**From: Juvia**

_15:06: Juvia got home from school a few minutes ago. She had a very interesting class today._

_15:06: She learned about the effects of sweet water on salt water and its ecosystem. Interested in knowing more?_

**To: Juvia**

_15:07: God, no. I’m texting you to NOT get bored. Tell me something I won’t nap over._

**From: Juvia**

_15:08: Well, Juvia has the night off of the diner today. She thought she could go to bed early today._

**To: Juvia**

_15:08: Sleeping early is boring._

**From: Juvia**

_15:09: Who said anything about sleeping?_

**To: Juvia**

_15:09: Now that’s interesting._

_15:10: What do you have in mind?_

**From: Juvia**

_15:11: Juvia was thinking she could wait for you to get home so she can call you and maybe we could try to take the edge off over the phone a little…_

**To: Juvia**

_15:12: Fantastic idea._

_15:12: I’m a 100% behind this._

_15:14: Juvia?_

**From: Juvia**

_15:15: Sorry, Juvia was doing something._

_15:15: Since you are so bored, Juvia thought she might give you something to use your imagination with?_

**To: Juvia**

_15:16: Oh? What is it?_

**From: Juvia**

_15:16: -Juvia sent an attachment-_

Gray frowned when he saw she had sent him a picture but the moment he opened it, his eyes widened and his mouth dried.

It was a picture of Juvia, even though he couldn’t see her face, just from her lips down, he knew it was her, and she was lying on her bed and was completely naked with the exception of her panties. She had her arm over her chest but even then it left little to the imagination.

**To: Juvia**

_15:18: Shit_

_15:18: Juvia, I’m in public_

_15:19: You can’t send me pictures like that when I’m in public_

_15:19: Someone could see it or I could get a fucking boner_

**From: Juvia**

_15:20: You said you were bored, Juvia is just trying to help, like a good girlfriend. :D_

_15:20: Are you still bored? ;)_

**To: Juvia**

_15:21: You are a menace._

_15:21: You won’t sext me when I’m alone in my apartment but you do when I’m in the middle of a class_

**From: Juvia**

_15:22: Juvia needs to keep you on your toes ;)_

**To: Juvia**

_15:23: Consider me on my toes._

**From: Juvia**

_15:25: Juvia thought she’d have to work more to make you less bored, so she took another picture…_

_15:25: She’s going to send it to you. You know, to not waste it._

**To: Juvia**

_15:26: Sounds reasonable._

_15:26: If you went through all this trouble…_

_15:27: I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?_

**From: Juvia**

_15:27: You tell Juvia._

_15:27: -Juvia sent an attachment-_

More prepared that time, Gray angled his phone so no one could see what he was doing and clicked on the attachment, preparing himself. It didn’t work: the image still took his breath away and that time, his blood definitely went south.

That time, Juvia’s arm wasn’t hiding her breasts so he had a clear view of her breasts and for a moment he reminded himself exactly what it felt to have them in his hands, his mouth. Fuck, he missed her.

What made him almost groan in the middle of his class was Juvia’s hand, that was under her panties and by the way she was biting her lower lip, she was enjoying going to bed early.

Gods, she was going to kill him.

**To: Juvia**

_15:29: Fuck_

_15:30: Fuck, Juvia_

**From: Juvia**

_15:31: Not good?_

**To: Juvia**

_15:32: Too good._

_15:33: I have this class for thirty minutes more, I take five minutes to go home_

_15:33: I’ll be calling you in forty minutes at most_

_15:34: Great. I have a boner now._

**From: Juvia**

_15:34: Sorry? :3_

**To: Juvia**

_15:34: You are not sorry at all, don’t even pretend._

**From: Juvia**

_15:35: Juvia is not. HAHA It’s good to know she affects you so much even when she’s in a different continent than you._

**To: Juvia**

_15:36: I could have told you that, you didn’t have to make me have an erection in public_

_15:37: I better stop texting you so I can focus on thinking about some disgusting things_

**From: Juvia**

_15:38: Juvia is going to entertain herself while you are not home, Gray-sama_

**To: Juvia**

_15:38: Oh no_

_15:39: If I can’t, you can’t either._

**From: Juvia**

_15:40: What???_

_15:40: Gray-sama, be reasonable._

**To: Juvia**

_15:41: Trust me, it’s going to be better if we do this together_

_15:41: Just wait forty minutes_

**From: Juvia**

_15:42: Fine. >,<’_

_15:42: Juvia should have sent those when you were home_

**To: Juvia**

_15:43: And I shouldn’t have asked you to make me less bored_

_15:43: I guess we both learned a lesson today_

**From: Juvia**

_15:44: Don’t sext in public and don’t send nudes while your boyfriend is in public?_

**To: Juvia**

_15:45: Yeap._

**From: Juvia**

_15:45: Lesson learned._

_15:46: Forty minutes will take forever, won’t they?_

**To: Juvia**

_15:47: Oh yeah._

_15:47: I’ll make you worth your while when I get home._

**From: Juvia**

_15:48: Juvia will hold you to that, Gray-sama_

**#**

Gray was checking his phone every two minutes, worried. Juvia hadn’t texted him yet, not even to say ‘good morning’ like she had been doing every morning since he left for Alvarez and it worried him, especially since it was his birthday.

What if something happened to her?

He looked down to his phone and texted her one more time, asking how she was. She hadn’t even visualized his messages. He didn’t want to sound crazy or too concerned, but he was. If he didn’t have an answer until he got home, he would call one of his friends to check on her.

“You haven’t heard from her yet?” Jerome asked as they left the university’s building, two of his friends joined him and Gray, Briar, a dark skinned curvaceous woman, with white hair and dark eyes and Mary, a short pink haired girl who everyone thought was cute. They had been hanging out since Gray befriended Jerome and he actually enjoyed their company. Both girls looked at him, confused.

“No.” They stopped when they reached the last step of the stairs and Gray turned to face the girls to explain. “My girlfriend hasn’t texted me yet. I’m worried.”

“The famous girlfriend.” Mary chuckled. “I’m sure she is alright.”

“It is his birthday and she hadn’t texted him? Troublesome.” Briar frowned. “Did you do anything to piss her off?”

Gray rolled his eyes. “No, I didn’t do anything to piss her off. She was fine when I called her last night.” He looked down to his phone again.

“Uh… Gray?” Jerome said.

“Yeah?” He didn’t look up from his phone, thinking he should at least text one of his friends with his concerns, or maybe Gajeel.

“I don’t think you need to worry.”

“Why is that?” He frowned and looked up to the blonde man, who pointed with his chin to somewhere behind him. Confused, Gray looked over his shoulder and after a moment trying to find out what Jerome had been trying to show him, he did a double take when he saw a familiar shade of blue between all the people of the campus.

Just a few meters away, Juvia stood wearing her thick blue coat, with a small suitcase and she was looking around, searching for someone. _Him_ , she was looking for him.

“What the fuck…?” Gray whispered to himself and started to walk in her direction, his heart beating like crazy inside his chest, his hands were sweating. Was he dreaming or was she really there? He couldn’t contain himself and called for her when he was close enough for her to hear him. “Juvia?”

The blunette looked in the direction of his voice and grinned when she saw him. “Gray-sama!” She exclaimed and took a few steps to meet him in the middle of the way and threw her arms around his neck and started to kiss his face, wherever her lips could reach. “Oh, Gray-sama.”

He couldn’t help it but to laugh as she showered him with kiss, his own arms around her waist and he picked up from the ground. “Are you really here?” He asked and she finally kissed his lips in a desperate kiss. “What are you doing here?”

“Happy birthday!” She said between pecks on his lips – Gray was aware there were people looking at them, his new friends as well, but he didn’t care; he hadn’t had her in his arms for more than three months.

“How…? What…?” He tried to form a sentence but he was so overwhelmed, he couldn’t.

Juvia laughed and gave him another peck before answering. “Your father won a plane ticket to anywhere he chose because he’s a frequent flyer and neither he nor your mom could travel so he gave it to me to visit you!”

“Really?” Gray couldn’t believe his ears. “How long are you staying?”

“Three days.”

His heart leaped in his chest. “Three days? You are staying for _three whole days_?” She nodded, a big smile on her lips and Gray kissed her, feeling his whole body buzz in happiness; he would have his girlfriend with him for three days.

Three whole days.

He didn’t think he would be that happy to have her for such a seemingly short amount of time for other people, but for him, damn it, for him it would be the best three days he could ask for.

Juvia laughed when he kissed her and the sound made him feel even happier, it was such a beautiful sound.

“Are you happy Juvia is here?” She asked when he put her on the ground again even though he missed holding her the moment he did, so he kept his arms around her.

“Like you wouldn’t imagine.” He answered and Juvia beamed in happiness, pulling him for another kiss.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwwwwn Gray is so happy Juvia is visiting! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :D I featured the Avatar people because they were the ones Gray spent those six months with so it made sense. ;)


	17. A Very Happy Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some smut lol

 

Introductions were made and Gray couldn’t be happier; he still couldn’t believe Juvia was standing next to him after more than three months apart.

“It is a pleasure to meet you.” Jerome told her and she smiled. “It’s nice to see _him_ ” the blonde pointed at Gray “smile for a change.”

“Shut up.” Gray rolled his eyes but he couldn’t stop smiling.

“Juvia has heard a lot about all of you.” The blunette told them. “Juvia was really afraid her Gray-sama wouldn’t make friends here.”

“He tries to look tough, but he’s a softie inside.” Mary told her with a snort. “He didn’t fool us.”

“He’s alright.” Briar shrugged.

“I appreciate the honesty, really.” Gray scoffed and then looked down to his watch. “Class is going to start in five minutes.”

“Oh. Juvia can wait over there while you go to class.” She pointed to a coffee shop across the street. “Juvia doesn’t want to keep you.”

“As if I’m letting you go wait in a coffee shop for two hours, especially when I know you took a six-hour flight to come and see me.” Gray couldn’t believe in what he was hearing. “We had mid terms last week, today the teacher will just review the test with the class and maybe start a new subject, but I’m fine on that class.”

“Are you sure?” The blunette asked, not wanting for Gray to miss any classes because of her.

“Yes. Jerome, could you sign my name?” Gray asked the blonde man.

“Sure.” He shrugged. “Go enjoy your girl.”

“Thanks, man.” Gray nodded.

“It was very nice to meet you.” Juvia told them.

Gray took her suitcase and when she slid her hand into his, Gray didn’t even hesitate to squeeze it. Screw it if everyone saw it, he didn’t care.

“They are nice.” Juvia told him – it was clear she was tired but tying to prevent him from seeing it.

“Yeah.” Gray nodded. “I still can’t believe you are here.”

Juvia chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder. “You should call your parents. Your father made me promise to make you call him when I got here.”

“I’ll call when we get to my place, it’s just a few blocks away.” He said. “How’s everyone?”

“They all miss you.” She told him. “Juvia swears, Natsu-san misses you almost as much as Juvia does. He misses his buddy.”

“Urgh, don’t ever say that again.” Gray rolled his eyes.

Juvia laughed. “Let’s see, what else…? Oh, Cana-san is getting ready for an exhibition of her photographs next week, Erza-san is starting an internship next month, Lucy-san had an article published on Magnolia U’s newspaper, Gajeel-kun and Levy-san are officially dating, Natsu-san betted with Gajeel-kun to run a 10k marathon and has been training.” She chuckled. “You’ll probably be home by then.”

“That will be something to watch.” He chuckled. “How about you?”

“We talk almost daily, Gray-sama.” Juvia was amused.

“I know.” He shrugged. “Just want to make sure I know everything that’s going on.”

“You know everything.” She told him and stopped him for a moment so she could tip toe and kiss his lips lightly. She sighed. “Juvia missed kissing you.”

“Me too.” He gave her a peck on the lips and a moment later, Juvia tried to hide a yawn and he couldn’t help but to chuckle at how embarrassed she was – she probably thought he’d think she was bored with him. “Alright, my apartment is just around the corner of the block, you’ll rest then.”

“I’m fine.” She tried to hide yet another yawn.

“Sure you are.” Gray snorted and spotted a pharmacy across the street and something popped in his mind. “Can you wait two minutes here?” Juvia frowned when Gray started to walk backwards towards the store. “Just… two minutes?”

“Okay?” She frowned and watched as he ran inside and, as he predicted, he was out in under two minutes.

Juvia was reading some flyer when he returned and she seemed very interested in what she was reading.

“Sorry, we can go now.” He told her.

“There’s a fair tonight!” Juvia said, excited when Gray got her suitcase again and they resumed their walk to his apartment. “We should go!”

Gray snorted. “I don’t think so. I have it in mind to not leave the apartment for three days.”

“We will _not_ spend three days locked in your apartment, Gray-sama!” Juvia clarified. “You still have class tomorrow morning and this is Juvia’s first time in Alvarez. She wants to see the town!”

“I thought you came here to see me.” He pointed out.

“ _Of course_ I did.” Juvia told him. “Which means Juvia wants to see the town _with you_.”

“Aw, man.” He groaned in annoyance.

“Don’t worry, Juvia will give you plenty of attention when we return to your apartment.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” He mumbled and pointed up ahead the street. “That’s my building. Come on, you need to rest.”

**#**

Even though Gray’s apartment was smaller than the one back in Magnolia, it wasn’t less impressive. He had rented it already furnished as he would only stay for a semester, and with only one bedroom, but it was quite spacious.

“My dad has a friend here who is a realtor.” Gray explained to Juvia. “He found me this apartment for a good price.”

“It’s great.” She said as she places her coat on the couch and then she turned to Gray. “Just don’t get too comfortable: you are getting back home in two months.” She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. “Otherwise, you’ll get in trouble with Juvia.”

“Wouldn’t dream of that.” He whispered, pulling her closer to him and then joining their lips.

Juvia’s hands went to his jaw, cupping his face while Gray’s traveled down from her waist down to her bottom, where he squeezed the muscle there, earning a low moan from Juvia that made Gray forget for a moment that she had just arrived from a long trip.

“Okay…” Gray unlocked their lips and rested his forehead on hers, breathing heavily. “You traveled for six hours after your shift so we need to stop. You need to rest and I’m just human.”

“Right.” Juvia agreed and kissed his lips lightly one last time. “How about Juvia gives you her gift and your parents’?”

“Good. That’s good distraction.” He mumbled and sat on the couch while his girlfriend went to get her purse before she returned and sat by his side.

“Your parents asked Juvia to give you this.” She handed him an envelope which he took, a little curious. “Juvia’s gift… well...” She took from her purse what Gray saw was some sort of knitting wool work. “It’s not that great. Sorry, money was tight this month.”

“I don’t care about gifts, Juvia.” Gray rolled his eyes.

“Juvia does.” She handed the wool. “It’s a scarf. It’s going to get colder soon so Juvia thought… Juvia knitted it herself.”

“You did?” He was surprised. “I didn’t know you could knit.”

“Juvia learned when she was young but stopped. With you gone, Juvia started again to pass the time and she ended up knitting you a scarf.”

“Wow.” Gray was clearly impressed. “It looks really good, Juvia.”

“Did you really like it?” She asked.

“Of course I did.” He nodded. “Thank you.” Gray leaned and kissed her. “I’ll start to wear it when it gets colder.”

“Are you really sure you-?”

“Juvia.” Gray glared at her. “Stop it, you know I wouldn’t lie to you. I liked it a lot, stop doubting yourself.”

“Sorry.” She bit her lower lip. “It’s just… we’ve been apart for more than three months. Juvia didn’t want to disappoint with a bad gift.”

Gray set the scarf aside carefully and pulled her to him until she was seated on his lap. “If you had arrived here with no gift whatsoever, this birthday would’ve still been one of the best I’ve ever had.”

She kissed his cheek. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Gray hummed in agreement when she kept kissing his cheek down to his jaw and neck. Her hand went from his shoulder to his chest. Perhaps… she wasn’t as tired as he thought she was? “Juvia?”

“Hm?”

“Aren’t you tired?” He asked.

“Doesn’t matter.” It was her answer.

Gathering all his will power, Gray pushed her so he could face her. “Wait… you’ve been up for how long now?”

She seemed to think for a moment. “I don’t know… twenty-six hours, maybe? Juvia had to work a double shift so she could get three days off.”

“Twenty-si-?” Gray’s eyes widened. “You didn’t sleep on the plane?”

The blunette shook her head. “Juvia doesn’t sleep when she’s on planes, she gets too nervous.”

“Juvia, you need to rest.” He informed her.

“No! Juvia was supposed to be sexy right now!” She pouted.

Gray couldn’t help it but to laugh. “What are you talking about?” Her face got red. “Juvia, come on. What are you talking about?” He asked again.

She sighed. “Juvia planned on arriving here and… _seducing_ you.” Gray raised an eyebrow. “Juvia has missed you so much. I just… I wanted to come here and be sexy so we could be together.” She whispered.

“Oh, Juvia.” Gray laughed and Juvia hid her face on the crook of his neck. “No, Juvia, come on.” He chuckled. “Do you think I don’t want you? Trust me, you don’t need to seduce me at all, although I can’t say I wouldn’t enjoy it. If you hadn’t been up for so long, trust me, I’d have you against the wall the moment we walked in.”

“Gray-sama!” It was Juvia’s muffled protest and he smiled; she was so cute when she was embarrassed.

“You are so weird.” He said with affection. “You can talk about being sexy and seducing me, but the moment I say something, you get embarrassed.” Gray pushed her away gently so he could look at her – as he predicted, her face was red. “How about we take a quick shower, we take a nap afterwards and _then_ you can be sexy?”

She hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure? You’d be skipping class to just take a nap with me.”

“Trust me: I’ve skipped classes for much less.” He kissed her forehead, amused. “I would _really_ enjoy taking a nap with you.”

“Okay.” She nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

**#**

Juvia woke up slowly, feeling refreshed and she frowned with the unfamiliar place until she processed the feeling of strong arms around her waist and soft breaths on the back of her neck.

She was at Gray’s apartment in Alvarez, they had lied down to take a nap a couple of hours before.

Smiling, she gently turned into his arms to take a look at him and she couldn’t help it but her heart to beat faster. She loved him so much those past three months had been terrible. Juvia had grown used to have him around all the time and to be apart from him hurt her.

Silver’s call about a plane ticket he won but couldn’t use had made her so happy. She would see her Gray-sama and stay with him for three days.

To be there, at that moment, in his arms, made her completely happy.

She touched the scar above his eyebrow as he slept. He was so handsome, Juvia couldn’t believe he was her boyfriend, that somehow he chose her. Sure, she had to chase him for a bit, but in the end, he chose her.

Her eyes traveled down and she felt her body get hotter when she saw his naked chest – he didn’t like to sleep with clothes on and it was more than okay with Juvia.

God, it had been more than three months since they had sex and Juvia had been literally dreaming of it. She knew she could’ve go much longer without sex and she had no problem with it when she was single, but she wasn’t single anymore and she was literally in his arms and she could feel not all of him was asleep – the knowledge sending a rush of wetness between her legs.

_‘Time to be sexy’_ , she thought and while she kissed his lips and down to his jaw, her hands caressed his body down to his chest, then his six pack, navel and to the front of his boxers where she could feel he was half-hard.

Unconsciously, Gray turned to lie on his back which made much easier for Juvia to push the blanket away and straddle him, her lips going to his neck and nibbling his ear, her hand going inside his underwear, curling it around him making Gray moan in his sleep.

“Wake up, Gray-sama.” She whispered. “Wake up.”

“Hm?” He hummed, still half-asleep as he opened his eyes, but closes it once again, making Juvia chuckle.

“Open your eyes.” She told him, her hand steadily pumping him and then she started to kiss her way down, taking a moment or two on his nipples, then down to his stomach.

Juvia, then, took her hand out from his underwear so she could take her shirt and throw it away and then position herself lower on his body, her lips returning to his navel as she pulled his underwear down, freeing him.

“What…?” Gray had finally opened his eyes and looked down to his body just in time to see Juvia’s lips engulf his length. She watched as his eyes widened and then rolled back at it – he closed his eyes for a few seconds, head falling back to his pillow, moaning. “ _Oh, fuck_.”

The blunette didn’t waste any time, using every trick she knew drove him crazy to get him into full hardness – swirling her tongue around him, sucking the tip and using her hands to stroke him.

“Juvia.” He breathed. One of his hands was on her hair and she could feel he was trying his best not to thrust up into her mouth and not push her head down and she appreciated that. To show how much she appreciated it, she sucked until Gray was pushing her away. “ _Fuck_. Stop. Stop, stop, _stop_.” He groaned and she did as asked, reluctantly.

Gray pulled her up and flipped them so he was on top of her, his lips on hers for a desperate kiss. “What the fuck, Juvia.” His hand went to grab her breast, rolling a nipple between his fingers. “What…?”

“Juvia was being sexy.” She told him between kisses and Gray groaned when she opened her legs to accommodate him better.

“Yes you were.” He said and his mouth went to her breast, sucking on her nipple, scrapping his teeth on the hardening nub while he grinded against her, her sleeping shorts a barrier between them.

Gray slid his hand under her shorts and panties to touch her core, fingers slipping into her, his thumb caressing her clit and Juvia couldn’t help it but to moan, hands going straight to his head, pulling his head so he could pay attention to her other breast.

“Gray-sama.” Juvia moved her hips so he could slip his fingers deeper, grinding herself on his hand the best she could.

Groaning in annoyance when Gray was suddenly off of her, Juvia was about to tell him to come back when she saw he was pushing his boxers away and then going to fumble with the jacket he was wearing earlier that day.

The moment he got a box of condoms out of the pocket, Juvia was quick to push her shorts and underway away and threw it somewhere on the floor. Gray had just opened the box and was struggling to open one of the packets when Juvia’s hand slid between her legs to touch herself.

Gray glanced her way when he managed to open the packet but he froze for a second when he saw what she was doing. For some reason, his eyes on her made Juvia’s fingers slip easily inside of her and she started to grind on her palm, her other hand on her breast.

“Gray-sama.” She moaned and pleaded and it seemed to pull Gray out of his haze and suddenly he was very efficiently rolling the condom on himself and on top of her again, pushing her hand away, kissing her desperately.

He got himself in his hand and lined with her before entering her in one single thrust and both of them moaned with it – they had been missing that so much.

“Oh.” Gray breathed and started to move, Juvia’s legs around his hips, her hands on his ass trying to bring him closer, deeper. He kissed her lips, swallowing her moans and mewls.

Juvia’s mind was focused entirely on that moment, how Gray’s hand cupped her ass and how his other one brought her leg up so it could rest on his shoulder and he could slip inside her even deeper, touching that amazing spot inside her.

She was being way too loud and god, his neighbors would complain to hear those noises at the end of the afternoon, but screw all that; Gray’s mouth was on her breast, biting the soft skin there and the light pain sent a gush of wetness between her legs.

“Gray-sama.” Juvia moaned, moving her hips to meet his, she was so close she could taste it. “Oh, god.”

“God, I missed you.” He groaned, hips snapping faster onto her. “Fucking perfect.” Her sounds mixed with his – his little soft groans – both too caught up to care about keeping quiet. “So good.”

“Don’t stop.” She breathed, pulling his face close to hers and pulling him for a deep kiss. “ _Don’t stop_.”

Gray let go of her ass and slid a hand between them, rubbing her clit in circles a few times before Juvia’s body tensed up, eyes rolled back and her nails dug into his skin as fireworks exploded behind her eyelids and her body lights up in pleasure.

He is right behind her, his own body tightening on top of hers, his hips grinding on hers and the low growl coming from his throat as he came.

She had missed that. She had missed the weight of him on top of her while he was still inside her, missed the way he’d kiss the side of her neck and up until he kissed her lips sweetly, missed how he’d caressed her body.

“Well, a very happy birthday to me.” He said, breathless, against her lips and Juvia couldn’t help it but to laugh and kiss him again, her mind still swimming in happy hormones.

After a few moments, Gray exited her and took off the condom, tying it up. He got up to dispose it before he returned to the bed, lying on his side and pulling Juvia to mirror his position. He had his arm on her waist, his hand caressing her back and pushing her for a kiss.

“You can wake me up like that anytime you want.” He told her.

“Okay.” Her cheeks felt warm and Gray chuckled – he was always more loosen up after sex, the hormones made him smile and laugh much more than usual. “I think we were a bit loud.”

“If the neighbors complain, let them.” Gray snorted. “I am not letting that ruin my good mood.”

“Yeah?” Juvia smiled.

“Yeap.” He nodded.

They stayed in silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other’s company when Juvia asked: “Did you really stop by that pharmacy to get condoms?” Juvia was amused. “When we were coming here, you went in and you took the box from your coat… You don’t have any here?”

Gray’s cheeks pinked up a little but he cleared his throat to answer her. “You were in Magnolia while I was here and you arrived as a surprise. Why would I need them? I have one in my wallet because my dad drilled the need to since I was fifteen, but other than that? No need for them.”

“Speaking of your father...” The blunette started but Gray interrupted her.

He groaned. “We really shouldn’t speak of him while we are naked and after we’ve just had sex.”

Juvia giggled. “You need to call him. He made-”

“He made you promise, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Gray rolled his eyes. “I’ll call him in a bit. Let’s stay like this for a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Juvia snuggled closer to him, tucking her head under his chin.

“I could stay like this for three whole-”

“We are _not_ staying inside for three days.”

“-days- _Aw, man_.”

**#**

It was amazing what seeing his girlfriend, taking a nap and then having amazing sex could do to a person. Gray was no longer pouting or grumpy, he actually thought it was a very nice day indeed as he picked his cellphone and called his father.

_“Hey, kid!”_ Silver’s voice was cheerful. “ _Happy birthday!”_

“Thanks, dad.” Gray couldn’t help but to smile and his father probably sensed that.

_“Sooooo… did you get my gift?”_ His tone was ridiculous and Gray could pretty much see his father’s eyebrows wiggle.

“Do you mean the envelope?” Gray asked being purposely obtuse knowing Silver didn’t mean that.

_“No, I mean the delivery girl.”_

Gray snorted. “Yeah, she’s here.”

_“Took you a while to call…”_ Silver commented. _“She must’ve arrived what? Three, four hours ago?”_

“I am _not_ going to tell you anything.” Gray rolled his eyes, his eyes on the hall that led to his bedroom, where Juvia was getting dressed so they could go out to have dinner. He was waiting at the living room and decided to call his father.

_“Didn’t ask you to.”_ Silver scoffed. _“Just saying… You could’ve called me sooner.”_

“Are you going to be pissed if I tell you it wasn’t really on my priority list?” Gray asked, honestly.

_“Not really, I get it. I wouldn’t call me either for a couple of hours.”_ His father chuckled. “Don’t worry, son, I sent her there exactly with the purpose to cheer you up and it seems she accomplished just that.”

Gray frowned, thinking about his words and, after making sure Juvia wasn’t going to hear him, he asked: “Send her here? You didn’t win those plane tickets, did you? You bought them and told her you won them.”

Silver laughed. _“Would she still go if she knew I had paid full price for them? She’d want to pay me back.”_ He said. _“You know I like to do what I can so you can have what you want on your birthday, Gray. Always had. This year that meant buying plane tickets so your girlfriend could visit you.”_

“Thanks, dad.” Gray said, honest. Juvia being there was exactly what he needed. He didn’t know he cared about his birthday until he had someone to celebrate with.

_“Of course, son. Use the money on the envelope to have a good weekend and take Juvia-chan some place nice and show her the town.”_

“Alright.”

_“I will text your mom telling her you got out gift so she can call you. She wanted to call you sooner but she wouldn’t have been able to keep the secret.”_

“That is true.” Gray laughed.

_“I should get going, I have a meeting in ten minutes.”_ Silver said. _“I love you, son. Happy birthday.”_

“Thanks, dad. I love you too.”

_“Call me tomorrow, okay? I told Juvia-chan to also get a lot of pictures!”_

“Damn it.” He sighed – Gray hated to take pictures.

_“Bye, son!”_

“Bye, dad.” Gray ended the call and went to grab the forgotten envelope that rested on his couch.

It was a pretty sum, Gray raised his eyebrows at how much but he put the money on his wallet either way. Well, if his girlfriend wanted to see the town, he’d show her.

He was too glad she was there to be his grumpy self.

Damn it, she would ruin his reputation.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo… HAHA I hope you liked their reunion!


	18. The Calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, update! I know you enjoy it but I must warn you, there are some sensitive matters being mentioned towards the end so please, **tread carefully**!

“You know, just because a town has an Aquarium, doesn’t mean we have to go see it.” Gray whispered – he didn’t want to burst their little bubble of happiness. They were on his bed, naked and he was caressing her back slowly.

That morning Juvia had dragged him to see the attractions on the town’s aquarium and he couldn’t simply tell her no, not when she gave him her puppy eyes. After a very nice lunch, they took a walk and then returned to his apartment where, from the moment they stepped inside, they started to take each other’s clothes along the way until they reached his bedroom.

“Juvia knows.” She chuckled, a hand on his chest – the blunette had her body pressed on his, the covers on their hips. “She can’t resist, though and it’s not like we don’t stop for five minutes in front of buildings you find interesting.”

“Well, there’s that.” He conceded her the point and with her as a guide, he didn’t mind the tour: it was always very interesting, she got really excited and it made him feel better.

After a few more moments of silence, he twisted one of her curls on his index finger and said: “Your hair is longer.”

“A bit.” She agreed. “Juvia was thinking if she should trim it a little or not. She is kind of enjoying longer hair.” He hummed, absent minded. “What do you think? She could cut a bit of it.”

He considered for a moment. “It looks nice as it is and it looked nice before too.”

“You are absolutely no help at all.” Juvia pouted and Gray snorted.

“Sorry.” He turned to lie on his side to face her, she kissed his lips lightly as he moved so the front of their bodies touched.

“Juvia should go take a shower.” She whispered to him. “Her flight is in three hours.”

“Yeah.” He agreed but neither of them moved. “I can’t believe the three days are over.”

“Me neither.” Juvia put a hand on his cheek and looked at him with sad eyes. “But now it’s just two more months and we will be able do be like this every day if we want to.”

“I am guessing we will want to.” Gray snorted softly and Juvia smiled. “Let’s just keep talking to each other everyday like we have been and things will be fine.”

“They will.” She agreed and gave him a few sweet pecks on the lips and he sighed into it. “Come on, get in the shower with Juvia so we can enjoy her last minutes here with you.”

**#**

“Text me when you get there.”

“It’s going to be very late here.” The blunette told her boyfriend.

“I don’t care.” He said while they walked slowly towards the boarding area. “I just need to know you got home okay. Don’t even think I forgot you live in a dangerous neighborhood.”

“Okay.” Juvia agreed. “And you, play nice with your friends here. Juvia liked them even though she is incredibly jealous some of them are girls.”

Gray rolled his eyes. “I have friends who are girls in Magnolia.”

“Yes, girls you’ve been friends with for years and know you are very much taken.” Juvia spoke, serious.

He snorted. “Trust me, I _know_ I am taken.”

“Good.” She gave him a kiss.

“Now you promise me again you won’t get into trouble.”

It was Juvia’s turn to roll her eyes. “Juvia spent four months without troubles at all, we just have two to go.”

“Don’t jinx it.”

**#**

Gray looked away from his computer when his phone rang and he frowned when he saw who the caller was. Cana didn’t really call him. Well, few people called him, he’d rather text so if Cana was calling, it was important.

“Hey, Cana.” Gray greeted her once he answered the call. “Is everything alright?”

_“No, everything is_ not _alright.”_ Cana’s voice was angry and Gray’s frown deepened. _“Have you talked to your girlfriend today?”_

“Uh, yes, a few hours ago.” He told her. “Why?”

_“Oh, so I am guessing she told you she needs to go to the fucking hospital?”_ Cana was sarcastic and Gray’s heart stopped for a moment. What was she talking about?

“What? Cana, what is happening? Is Juvia alright?” Gray asked, worried. When he talked to Juvia earlier, she sounded okay and said she didn’t have any news. She didn’t even sound sick or anything.

_“Should I put her on? I had to drag her from the diner.”_ Cana said and without even waiting for Juvia to answer, she spoke again. _“She looks like a scolded child right now and she’s dragging her heels to go.”_

“Cana, stop scaring me shitless and _tell me what happened_.” He almost screamed at the phone, getting frustrated, passing his fingers through his hair.

“ _She didn’t tell me much but apparently last night she was coming home and the sidewalk was a bit slippery. She sprained her ankle and now it’s a bit purple and she’s walking all funny.”_ Cana’s voice was clearly accusatory and he could picture his friend glaring at the blunette.

“Shit.” Gray said but felt relieved it was much less serious than he thought. “Where are you?”

_“We took a cab and we are going to the hospital to have it looked at.”_ Cana told him. _“Can you talk to her into letting the doctor do their job when we get there?”_

“Yeah. Pass the phone to her.” Gray said, taking a few calming breaths.

_“Sure.”_

It took them a moment to change the phone from Cana to Juvia and his girlfriend’s small voice almost broke his heart. _“Hi.”_

“How are you feeling?”

“ _It’s not_ that _bad_.”

“ _It is_.” He heard Cana speak on the background loud enough so he could hear her.

“What happened to not cause trouble when I am not around?” He asked her, stern and she didn’t answer. “You know this is serious and you didn’t tell me or looked for help.” He scolded her.

_“Juvia has a performance in three days.”_ She whispered and Gray suddenly realized she was afraid. _“Juvia_ has _to perform, it’s the semi-final.”_

Gray sighed. “Not with your ankle sprained, you can’t. I know you think you are invincible, but if you are injured, you need to slow down or this could get worse and then you won’t be able to perform at all.”

“ _My scholarship-_ ”

“Accidents happen, Juvia.” He groaned in annoyance. “They will not kick you out of the skating team because you got hurt by accident _once_.”

“ _I-_ ”

There was some noise and then Cana’s voice came from the phone instead of Juvia’s. “ _We’re arriving at the hospital. I’ll call you soon_.”

“Wait-” He tried but the call ended. “Fuck.”

His focus to finish his project was out of the window, then and he kept texting Cana to have any updates on his girlfriend.

**To: Cana**

_21:17: Has the doctor seen her?_

_21:18: Cana!_

_21:20: Cana, please_

**From: Cana**

_21:25: Sorry, we were filling out forms. I know way too much about your girlfriend’s medical history now_

_21:25: Apparently is a slow night and someone is going to see her in a while_

**To: Cana**

_21:25: Please, text me as soon as someone is seeing her._

_21:26: How is she?_

**From: Cana**

_21:27: Gotcha._

_21:27: She’s sulking but I think we won’t have problems when the doctor comes_

**To: Cana**

_21:28: Good. Please, tell him how important Skating is for her_

**From: Cana**

_21:29: I will. Don’t worry, Gray. She’s not alone_

**To: Cana**

_21:30: Thank you, Cana_

**#**

“Tell me.” Gray demanded while he talked on the phone with his girlfriend. “Tell me what happened.”

He heard her sigh but she spoke. “ _Last night when Juvia was returning from work, the sidewalk was a bit slippery and she sprained her ankle but the moment she got home, she put some ice and she really thought it was okay_.” She stopped for a moment. “ _By morning… it was a bit ugly_.”

“You should’ve gone to the ER, then, Juvia.” Gray sighed, tired – it was almost three a.m. there and he was so tired. “This is something important.”

“ _I know, but Juvia panicked_.” Juvia told him in a whisper. “ _Just a few days until the semi-final, Gray-sama. Juvia really has a chance of winning and… god, my coach will kill me_.” She added as an afterthought. “ _Juvia imagined all the consequences of it being worse than it looked and it freaked me out. Juvia went to school and then to work, that’s why Cana-san found me limping_.”

“Juvia.” Gray could feel the migraine he was feeling worsen with her words. “I talked to you earlier, why didn’t you say anything?”

“ _Juvia was trying to ignore it and you would get worried and would make her go to have her ankle checked.”_

“Like you did twelve hours later?” He asked, sarcastic. “Would’ve saved a lot of worrying.”

The blunette didn’t answer right away. _“Sorry.”_

Gray groaned in annoyance knowing she was feeling guilty for worrying him. “Juvia, this can’t happen. You can’t get hurt and not tell me. I know most of the times you are right when it comes to our relationship but this? I’m right on this and you know it.”

_“I do.”_ She whispered.

“Good because if it were me you’d be scolding me.” He pointed out.

_“That is true.”_ Juvia sighed. _“Juvia will see it not happens again. She’s just not used to anyone other than Gajeel-kun caring enough to get this worried. Oh god.”_ She moaned in pain. _“Gajeel-kun will have plenty to say too.”_

“Good. Someone should. And get ready for the girls to come over too, I bet Cana already told them.”

_“She did.”_ Juvia said. _“Juvia already has a lot of texts on her phone. Being cared for like that… is nice.”_

“Yeah.” He agreed. “I’m still mad at you, though.”

_“I know.”_ She spoke softly.

“Are you putting ice on it?” Gray asked.

_“Actually Juvia has an elastic compression wrap and she has to use it for thirty-six hours and she’s supposed to rest as much as she can for two weeks.”_ She sighed again. _“This sucks.”_

“It does, but you have to follow the doctor’s orders.” He told her. “Please, don’t overexert yourself, if you were prescribed two weeks, take it easy for two weeks.”

_“Yes.”_ She agreed. _“Juvia will call her coach and her boss tomorrow to tell them what happened.”_

“Just so you know, now that our friends know, I highly doubt you can go anywhere without one of them seeing it and reporting to each other and to me so you are going to take it easy.”

_“Juvia doesn’t have any choice, then.”_ She chuckled.

“None at all.” He snorted. “Look, it’s late here and I have class in four hours.”

_“Oh, yes, yes. Sorry, Gray-sama.”_ She told him. _“God, Juvia completely forgot the time difference.”_

“It’s okay, I wasn’t going to sleep until I talked to you and now that I did, I think I can now.”

_“Thank you for caring so much, Gray-sama.”_ Her voice was soft.

“Of course I care.” He rolled his eyes. “Get ready for this to happen whenever you get hurt.”

“ _Alright. Good night, Gray-sama._ ”

“Good night, Juvia. Call me in the morning and this time tell me everything.”

_“Okay.”_

**#**

It took Juvia a while to get a hundred per cent better but after a week, she was okay enough to go to work but instead of serving, she worked as the cashier so she could keep her ankle high enough behind the counter. Sometimes she’d freak out about it and Gray had to talk her down but mostly she was alright.

Thankfully, two months seemed to fly by especially when the finals week arrived and suddenly it was time for Gray to return home and Juvia couldn’t be more excited. Just two days and she’d have her boyfriend all to herself once more. She would be kind enough to share him with their friends, but not for long.

Juvia was about to heat up her lunch when her phone started to ring and she saw the picture of her gorgeous boyfriend – it was one she took during her trip, she caught him smiling and there was really no sight more beautiful.

“Hi, Gray-sama!” She answered, cheerfully.

_“Hey.”_ He answered her. _“How are you?”_

“Great!” She beamed. “Juvia can’t believe she’s going to have you back here in two days!”

_“Yeah.”_ He chuckled. _“When do your week off work starts?”_ Juvia had decided to split her vacation days between summer and winter, taking a week at time so she could really relax.

“In four days.” She told him. “Juvia has the night off tonight, though.”

_“I see.”_ Gray answered. _“Are you home?”_

“Yes, Juvia was just about to start on lunch-” She got interrupted by a knock on the door and she frowned. “Uh, wait a second, Gray-sama.” The blunette walked towards her door. “There’s someone on Juvia’s door.”

_“Yeah, I know.”_ She heard him chuckle.

“What do you-” Juvia opened her door and right there, with his suitcases and backpack there was her boyfriend. “-mean?”

“Hi.” Gray smiled and Juvia’s eyes widened.

“Hi.” She whispered, still talking on the phone. Oh, her heart was beating so fast. “You are here.” She ended the call, still trying to believe her eyes. “You…”

“Surprise.” He also put his phone on his pocket.

“You are here!” She shrieked and threw her arms around him as Gray laughed when she started to kiss his face wherever she could reach it. “Oh! Did Juvia get the date wrong?” She asked between kisses and finally kissed his mouth and Gray moaned into it. “You were supposed to arrive in two days! We even have a party planned!”

“I thought I should take revenge and surprise you.” He told her, kissing her lips once more.

“Good!” She giggled between kisses. “Juvia is very happy you are here earlier.”

“Me too.” He told her and saw some movement on their right and saw Juvia’s neighbor standing there, smiling softly – she probably heard noise from the hallway and decided to check it out. “Hello, Martha. Sorry we bothered you.”

“It’s alright.” The older woman chuckled. “I’m glad you returned, young man. Juvia missed you and everyone could see it.”

“I know.” Gray nodded and Juvia beamed at him. “We will take the reunion inside. Nice seeing you.” Martha said the words back at him and only then the couple untangled from each other, just long enough to bring Gray’s bags inside.

The moment they were inside and the door was closed, Gray pulled her close to him and pinned her on the wall, his intentions very clear.

“Aren’t you tired?” Juvia asked, sighing in contentment when he started to kiss her neck and let her breathe, his hand under her sweater.

“Unlike you, I actually sleep on planes so I’m fine.” He said, lips caressing the skin of her shoulder. “Are you?”

“Oh, god, yes.” Juvia agreed, breathless and she shrieked in surprise when he put her over his shoulder and walked towards her bedroom. She started to laugh, happy and more than okay to how her afternoon turned out to.

**#**

Gray couldn’t believe he had been home for two weeks. God, he missed his crazy, messy, loud friends. He thought as they shared a meal at Phantom’s so Juvia could pop by a few times. They had spent her week off of work to spend a couple of days at his parents’ and then four days at a very nice cabin at the mountains. God, he had missed his girlfriend.

He was so freaking glad to be home.

“You know, I’m already fed up with you.” Natsu told him.

“Second that.” Cana raised her hand, followed by a few of his friends.

“Oh, fuck off, all of you.” He rolled his eyes, knowing they were teasing.

“Juvia is more than happy you are home, Gray-sama.” Juvia had just arrived to take their orders and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “If they don’t want you around, you can spend all your time with me.”

“Thank you.”

“My poor _, poor_ friend.” Cana pretended to cry.

“Stop it, Cana.” Lucy chuckled.

The blunette smiled and started to get their orders until another waitress arrived next to her and said, in a low voice, but Gray was close enough to hear. “Juvia, there’s a policeman here to talk to you? Go, I will take your section.”

Juvia frowned and both her and Gray looked in the direction the girl had come and they saw a tall man with dark skin, bald and wearing a trench coat. Gray looked at his girlfriend and saw she didn’t recognized the man at all.

“Uh, guys.” She told their friends, smiling but tense. “Kiara-san here is going to take your orders but Juvia will be here as soon as possible.”

She glanced at him and Gray could see she wanted his company so he excused himself as well and Juvia waited for him so they could meet the man, who was watching them from afar. “What would he want?” He asked.

“No idea.” Juvia told him and got close to the man. “Hello.”

“Miss Juvia Lockser?” His green eyes assessed her quickly and once she nodded, he offered his hand, Juvia took it and shook it. “I am Detective Jackson Ryan, from Oak Town.” He stared at Gray, who knew Oak Town was where Juvia lived before Magnolia. “And you are?”

“Gray Fullbuster, I’m her boyfriend.” He said, confused and so was Juvia. Detective Ryan nodded and offered him a hand and Gray shook it. “What’s this about?”

“Miss Lockser, do you know a woman named Carly Herman?” Detective Ryan’s voice was deep and Juvia seemed to be surprised to hear the name.

“Uh… kind of?” Juvia frowned and looked at Gray before her eyes returned to the dark-skinned man. “We met briefly when Juvia still studied at Phantom U, but Juvia’s been living in Magnolia for almost two years, now.”

“You haven’t had any recent contact with her?”

“No, not for two years.” She answered. “Is something wrong? Is Carly-san in any trouble?”

“Miss Herman took her life two days ago.” The Detective told her and Juvia’s eyes widened, the man clearly documented Juvia’s reaction in his mind. Gray put a hand on her lower back for support but he was also surprised – neither of them waited for that answer and Juvia had gone awfully pale. “Now tell me, Miss Lockser.” The Detective took a piece of paper from inside his trench coat, unfolded and gave to Juvia, whose hands were trembling so hard when she took it from him. “Why would a girl, whom you haven’t spoken to for two years, leave this suicide note?”

Gray read the words on the paper and his whole body went cold at the words, he could feel the shock coming from his girlfriend as well.

“Well?” The Detective asked and Gray looked down to the paper and read:

_‘I might’ve taken my own life, but I was murdered a long time ago. Find Juvia Lockser to find my murderer.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… this is happening. Sorry for the little cliffie?


	19. The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What three months without update? ~whistles guiltly~

 

Gray looked at his girlfriend, worried as they sat on a booth, the detective across from them, carefully watching Juvia's reaction but anyone could see she was shaken up. She was pale and taking it hard, her hands were shaking under while he held one of them under the table.

"So, Miss Lockser." Detective Ryan seemed unmoved by Juvia's reaction. "Can you tell me what the note means?"

Juvia took a glance at the paper on the table – it was clearly just a copy but it held the same weight as if it was the real thing.

"No." Juvia shook her head, her voice barely a whisper.

" _No_?" The Detective frowned. "Your name is on this note, from a girl who killed herself and you know what pushed for it to happen and-"

"I won't tell anything to  _you_." Her voice was a bit louder, then.

He raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Because when Juvia went to tell you what happened, you did  _nothing_!" Her stunned state seemed to be leaving her and filling her with anger. She let go of Gray's hand. "Instead, you  _bullied_ me so  _no_ , I won't tell you anything and if you are here to make threats-"

The Detective seemed genuinely confused, then. "Wait, wait, wait. Miss Lockser, I've never even  _seen_  you until today."

"You,  _Oak Town police_." She practically spat the words.

"You went to the police with whatever information you have, before?" Detective Ryan seemed intrigued. Juvia got up and didn't leave only because Gray was in the way. "No, don't. Whatever happened, Miss Lockser, I had nothing to do with it." He told her. "I transferred there just four months ago."

Gray checked the man out and he seemed genuine enough and Juvia was too shocked to think straight.

"Juvia, take a breath." Gray wasn't really used to be the voice of reason but Juvia was busy freaking out – with reason, of course, but freaking out either way. "Sit down. Let's hear him." He asked her gently. "Please."

The blunette hesitated but sat back closer to him and her hand met his on her lap – they were so close he could feel her trembling. Gray glanced at the Detective and he took his cue.

"Miss Lockser, I'm new at the precinct." He told her. "Whatever happened, I wasn't there."

Juvia snorted. "So what? If I tell you what happened, you will actually do something, instead of doing what your colleagues did to me?" She shook her head and got up again. "I can't do this right now." She said and gently pushed Gray's legs away so she could leave the booth.

Gray watched as she walked towards the door of the diner and he looked at the Detective. "Are you here to try to harass her?"

The dark-skinned man raised his eyebrows. "I don't even know what I would harass her for. I am here for answers."

Gray narrowed his eyes but the man seemed truthful enough. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." Detective Ryan informed him and took a cart from inside his coat, giving it to Gray. "Call me if she wants to talk." Gray stared at him in suspicion and the older man rolled his green eyes. "I was never here to arrest her, kid. Like I said, I just want answers 'cause that note is unusual."

Gray took the card. "I'll talk to her."

"Alright." Detective Ryan nodded and Gray left, stopping by the table with his very confused friends just to grab his coat before he ran outside, after his girlfriend.

He found her walking her way out of the parking lot and down the street, her blue hair easily standing out even with just the incandescent lights of the parking lot and he had to jog to catch her before she stepped out of the parking lot.

"Juvia, hey, hey, hey." Gray finally caught up with her and grabbed her forearm, so she could stop and when she turned around his heart broke when he saw her tears. "Oh, Juvia." His shoulders dropped.

"She's dead." He put his coat around her before pulling her to a hug. Juvia started to sob into his chest and all he could do was hold her until she was ready to talk.

**#**

"This is my fault." Juvia whispered. It was the first thing she had spoken in a while and Gray froze for a moment.

"What?" He was shocked and looked down to his girlfriend just to find her with eyes wide open, terrified.

"It-it- It was because of Bora." Juvia told him. "She ki-killed herself because of him and I…" Tears escaped her eyes. "I had the evidence to lock him u-up bu-bu-but I never used it."

"Juvia-"

"No, listen!" The blunette said. "If-if he were caught, she wouldn't have-"

"You don't know that." Gray shook his head and put a hand on her cheek to make her look at him. "Perhaps even if he had been caught, she'd still have done it. You don't know, I don't know. The only one to blame here, is that scumbag Bora." He told her.

"I could-"

"No." He told her firmly. "You did what you could at the time and no one supported you. You went to the police, you tried to do the right thing and instead of help, those assholes harassed you instead of help, as it was their job."

"Maybe-"

"Juvia." He said it firmly again. "Don't go down that road. You couldn't have known she would do this. This whole thing almost ruined you, got you to leave your college and your town because no one believed you.  _You tried_."

The blunette tightened her arms around him. "Juvia told some of the girls, the ones she could reach and Carly-san… she was one of the girls who didn't believe me because she thought Bora didn't  _need_  to rape anyone." She whispered and Gray frowned. "She yelled at me when I told her what I thought, and I left, never saw her again." She sniffed. "Now she's  _dead_."

Gray didn't know what else to say, so he told her, quietly: "I'm sorry, Juvia." He caressed her back. "Come on, you can't finish your shift like this."

"No, I have to work." Juvia tried.

"I think people will understand." Gray kissed her temple.

**#**

Thankfully, Juvia had a good relationship with the other waitress and had covered for them whenever they needed so when Juvia had to leave early, they were happy to cover for her.

While she got her stuff, Gray went to their friends' table and explained he needed to take Juvia home. They were all curious, but Gray didn't explain much besides his need to get her home. They looked concerned but didn't push it.

The ride to her place was quiet, as it was the walk to her apartment but just as it was when she first told him about what happened, he asked what she wanted him to do and the answer was the same: she didn't want to be alone.

What changed was how she took his hand and led him to the bathroom with her and Gray was unsure until she started to pull his clothes off him. It seemed she needed it and he wasn't going to deny her.

When they went to bed, Gray held her but they couldn't let her fall asleep before they talked about the Detective.

"Juvia?" She made a sound to make sure he knew she was listening. "Detective Ryan gave me his card. We should talk to him tomorrow, he seemed pretty honest to me." Juvia's body clearly tensed. "If you want, of course. Perhaps now it's the time you've been waiting for." She didn't say anything, so he kept speaking. "You didn't keep those earrings for two years as proof of what he did because you wanted to, but because one day you wanted justice. You said it so yourself you needed someone to believe you. Perhaps… this is it."

She stayed in silence for a few moments. "What if he is as awful as those other cops were?" She whispered.

"I will be there with you and back then you didn't know how to stand up for herself. I have seen you punch a guy who touched you without invitation. Gajeel did a good job there."

For the first time in hours, Juvia actually chuckled – as light as it was. "Juvia doesn't think punching Detective Ryan will go too well, she would probably be arrested."

Gray chuckled as well. "Oh, there's that." He caressed her arm. "He said he doesn't leave until tomorrow." He told her after a few moments. "Just think about it, okay?"

"Okay." The blunette agreed and kissed his cheek, mumbling a 'good night'.

**#**

That time, when Detective Ryan entered the diner Juvia chose to meet him with, both her and Gray were ready. The dark-skinned man sat across from them on the booth and aside from their 'good mornings', the three of them stayed in silence for long minutes.

"Why did you come here?" Juvia finally asked. "She killed herself."

"Yes, she did, but she also made it clear some sort of crime had been committed against her for her to leave a note like that." The Detective told her. "When I got her name on the system, I saw she was raped almost three years ago and suddenly the note made sense. You know who did it."

"Juvia can see you earned your Detective badge." She said, bitter and she felt Gray's hand on her thigh, signalizing her to calm down.

The Detective ignored her words. "I didn't know you've had been to the precinct before. Nowhere in the files of that Serial Rapist says there was a suspect of that someone step forward with information."

"Juvia did." The blunette told him. "When she figured out, she went to the station."

"There's no record of that."

"Of course not." Gray scoffed. "Juvia went there and instead of listening to her, those policemen harassed her after she had been assaulted by the son of a bitch."

Ryan frowned. "You were raped as well?"

"No." Juvia shook her head. "Gray-sama is referring to the fact that Juvia had a black eye, courtesy of the man who raped those girls."

"Let me guess this straight." The Detective said. "You were attacked by the man but he didn't rape you? Did you escape before?"

Juvia looked in Gray's direction and the hand on her thigh squeezed and he nodded – she felt better with him there as support. "It was my ex-boyfriend." Juvia proceeded to tell the Detective her findings, her conclusion and how Bora reacted, all without saying his name and while she spoke, he took notes and made questions, making Juvia relax a little; it was different from the first time.

Once she was done with the story, Ryan put his pen away and asked, his green eyes were gentle but she could see he was also burning with anger inside. "Now, Miss Lockser, I need the names of the… policemen you spoke with and if possible, the day and time you were there."

"Tetsuo and Gianni." Juvia told him and gave him the other information he needed.

"I see." Juvia just knew those two would be in trouble by the way the Detective looked. "Now, Juvia." He used her first name for emphasis, she knew. "I need the name of your ex-boyfriend."

Gray put his arm around her waist and Juvia was grateful for the support. "You probably know him, you probably saw him around." The Detective frowned, but nodded. "Bora Sinclair, son of Police Captain Shouta Sinclair."

He tried to hide his surprise, but Detective Ryan couldn't, not completely. "I've met him, both of them, in fact." He seemed to think. "The boy seemed a bit odd, my gut told me not to trust him."

"Your gut was right." Juvia muttered.

"This is big, Miss Lockser." He told her. "An accusation like that…" Juvia's body tensed and the dark-skinned man noted. "No, don't, I am not Tetsuo or Gianni. I want justice, but we are going to need proof, a tight case for us to prosecute." Ryan seemed to think for a moment. "I'm going to need the earrings."

Juvia shook her head and Gray jumped in. "No. That's what they kept asking her for when she was kept there for hours so they could make them vanish. She will not give you anything until you tell me there's an investigation on Bora, open."

"The only reason I am talking to you right now is because it seems to be Carly-san's last wish." Juvia told him. "Juvia is doing this for  _her_  and she kept those earrings safe for years to bring justice to the other girls and she will not give them to you unless it is a  _real_ investigation."

The Detective's fingers started to tap on the table as he thought on his course of action. "What you gave me is very circumstantial at best, I'd never get a warrant for DNA with just that and not the earrings. Sometimes he was sloppy and there were DNA on the scenes, but we never had anyone to test." Juvia's shoulders dropped a little. "But… I could ask for the footage of the day you went to the precinct. You said he hit you? That's a crime and I can have him brought in for interrogation." Juvia perked up and she glanced at her boyfriend and saw him straight his back on the chair. "I can get him to speak a little and I might be able to get his DNA. It's a long shot, but hey, he might fall for it."

"You are really going to try?" Juvia couldn't believe her ears.

" _Of course_ I will try." The Detective told her with certainty. "I don't care whose son he is, if he is guilty, then he deserves to go to prison. I don't give a crap about Captain Sinclair's status but just to be clear: I open the investigation and you will give me the earrings and testify?"

Juvia raised her chin. "Yes."

"Alright, then." The detective nodded. "I will check everything you told me so we won't have any loose ends and I will keep you posted, Miss Lockser." He got up and offered her his hand.

"Thank you." She shook his hand and watched as he did the same with Gray before he left after saying goodbye. "Oh my god." Juvia said quietly, putting a hand over her chest.

"What? What is it?" Gray was concerned.

"Is this really happening?" She turned to look at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Is he really going to investigate Bora?"

"It appears so, yes." Gray nodded and gave her a kiss on the lips. "I am very proud of you."

"I didn't do anyth-"

"You did." He cut her off. "I could feel you shaking the entire time and I know you were scared, but you told him everything he needed to hear, and you are ready to take on that bastard. You were very brave today."

"Juvia felt much safer with you here, so thank you."

"Anytime, Juvia. Whenever you need me, I'll be there."

**#**

A week later, Juvia had just arrived for a few minutes at her apartment after being dropped off by her boyfriend when she realized the had left her cellphone in his car after their date. Since she noticed soon, she managed to video-conference him from her computer and ask him to return. Thankfully, he wasn't too far away.

Sadly, that night they would need to spend apart, since he was going to his parents' place for the weekend (sadly, she couldn't move her shifts and go with him that time) and she couldn't be without her phone for that long.

Two minutes after hanging up, she heard a knock on the door, Juvia went to get it, saying loudly enough for her boyfriend to hear: "You were much closer than Juvia thought." She said, reaching for the knob. "Why didn't you use your key to get-" The moment she opened the door and saw who stood there, her eyes got wide and her blood froze inside her veins.

Right there, in her doorstep, stood Bora Sinclair.

She had less than a second to process the fact that her ex-boyfriend was there before she saw a punch come right at her left cheek, throwing her body against the door. Her right side collided with it and his punch was so strong she almost couldn't make sense to what he started to yell, it sounded like  _'How dare you rat me out?'_  and  _'Fucking nosy bitch'_  but then he punched her again and with the force of it, she took a few steps back, tripping on her rug.

Bora reached for her hair and dragged her further inside the apartment while Juvia kicked and screamed. "They treated me like a fucking  _criminal_!" He yelled.

A long time ago when Gajeel had taught her how to fight, he had told her many times to never fall down, if possible. If she fell down, things wouldn't look good for her and the first kick on her stomach made her scream in pain. Has she been screaming? Had she asked for help? Maybe, she couldn't remember.

It was all a blur. A blur, and constant pain.

Somewhere inside he, her body still remembered a position that could help so she curled up on herself, covering her head the best she could but apparently Bora wasn't having it and used all his strength to make her loosen her stance by punching her ribs repeatedly and at one point the pain was too intense, Juvia let go.

He took the opportunity and straddled her and after punching her face another time, his hands went to her neck as he tried to strangle her.

"You are trying to put me in jail?  _Me_?" Juvia tried to push him away, she scratched his arms and hands, his face, tried to kick him, get him off of her but nothing she did seemed to work. He was still babbling nonsense but Juvia didn't make it what it was, not when she couldn't breathe and there were dark dots in her vision. "I'll show you. I'll show you."

It felt as if Juvia's body had been held by strings and the strings were suddenly cut, her arms simply fell, her body softened, and darkness was about to swallow her when suddenly, there was no more weight on top of her and no hands on her throat.

She could  _breathe_.

She took one deep breath, started coughing and her lugs  _hurt_ , but she was  _breathing_. Or was she? Was she dreaming? No, dreams didn't hurt that much. She looked around, still feeling her strings cut but then she noticed the reason why she wasn't unconscious.

Gray had appeared and was exchanging punches with Bora but the son of a bitch had Gray on one of the walls and seeing her loved one like that gave Juvia enough strength.

The blunette got up, gathering force from god knows where, grab one of her trays from the counter and hit Bora on the back of the head and while it didn't knock him out, distracted him enough for Gray to turn the fight around and Juvia's eyes didn't quite keep up, but a few moments later, Bora was on the floor, unconscious and Gray was panting on top of him.

Oh, she thought, they were safe now.

"Juvia?" Gray asked, concerned and he had such a beautiful voice she wanted to stay awake to hear more, but it appeared she couldn't. She felt the strings being cut again as her body lost its strength – the last thing she heard was a panicked 'Juvia!' from her boyfriend – and darkness surrounded her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm… just going to leave this here and walk away now.


	20. When It Rains, It Pours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See! This time I behaved and updated in less than three months! :)

 

Gray frowned in confusion when he saw his girlfriend video-calling him, since he had dropped her at her apartment just a few minutes before. He answered the call, the phone on its support, showing him, to her, and he glanced quickly at the screen just to make sure she was alright, but besides being a little sheepish, she seemed okay.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Gray wondered, slowing down just in case.

“ _Juvia is_ so _sorry, Gray-sama, but she thinks she forgot her phone in your car somewhere, it’s not here. Can you check?_ ” She replied, and Gray pulled the car over.

“Wait.” He turned the light inside the car, on, and looked underneath the passenger’s seat when he didn’t find it on it and saw the phone there. “Yeap, it’s here.”

“ _Oh, good_.” Juvia sighed in relief. “ _I really can’t afford to lose it and buy another one right now._ ” She told him when he showed the phone to her. “ _Can you bring it to Juvia, please?_ ” She pleaded, putting her hands together. “ _Otherwise you will be gone all weekend and Juvia won’t be able to reach you, or anyone else, when she’s at the diner. Please, please,_ please _?_ ”

He rolled his eyes for good measure. “Fine, you don’t need to beg, jeez. I won’t make it my _hostage_.” Gray snorted. “I’m not even that far. I’ll be there in a few minutes and I will accept some of those cookies you told me you baked this morning, as payment.” He started the car again.

“ _You are_ the _best boyfriend in the world._ ” Juvia smiled and Gray smirked a little. “ _Juvia will give you some to take to your parents as well, since you are coming back here!_ ”

“I don’t know if they will arrive there without being eaten, but I’m not complaining.” Gray shrugged. “See you in a bit.”

“ _Okay!_ ” She hung up, cheerfully and Gray drove back to her apartment.

Once he stopped in front of her building, Gray put her phone on his pocket and locked the car before he headed towards the building. He found the keys she had gifted him a month before and opened the door.

Gray frowned when he heard some commotion echoing through the building and his blood ran cold when he heard a scream of help, his heart stopping for a second when he recognized the voice.

_Juvia._

A second later, Gray was running up the stairs, towards his girlfriend’s apartment and he saw some of her neighbors were opening their doors to check on what was happening, but he didn’t mind them, he had to get to her.

What he saw when he arrived, made his eyes go wide. There was a man inside the apartment, Juvia was on the floor and the man had his hands around her throat as he proceeded to choke her. Juvia was fighting the man the way she could, and his body moved by instinct when he saw her arms go limp.

Gray pulled the man from his girlfriend and punched him on the face a few times, not really giving him time to recover.  The attacker lounged at Gray, screaming and breaking a few trinkets Juvia had in her apartment. Gray managed to throw in another punch, making the man take a step back.

Gray glanced at Juvia and saw she was coughing and he was relieved he wasn’t too late, but the couple of seconds he got distracted were enough for the attacker to grab Gray by the shirt and pin him on the wall.

They were almost the same height, Gray noticed off-minded and the man punched Gray. He was strong, Gray had to give him that and got another punch a moment later.

Before Gray could react, he saw Juvia behind the man, holding a tray – probably the same one she had baked the cookies he asked just a few minutes before (god, it has only been a few minutes since they talked on the phone?) – and then hitting him. Gray was quick to punch the attacker once he was distracted and finally knock him out.

He looked up from the unconscious man, panting, and saw Juvia standing there, her eyes were wide, though by the redness on her face, they would be swollen soon. God, what had happened? How long had that man been there before Gray arrived?

“Juvia?” Gray called her and saw her eyes roll back as her body went limp. “Juvia!” He cursed himself when he didn’t manage to catch her in time and he kneeled next to her, cradling her body next to his, touching her face tenderly. “Juvia, wake up, come on. Please, wake up.”

“I called the police! They will be here in a few minutes” Gray looked over his shoulder to see Juvia’s neighbor, Martha, standing in her nightclothes, a robe carelessly tied on and the older woman looked as spooked as Gray felt to see Juvia unconscious. “Oh, poor thing.”

Gray’s attention returned to the blue haired woman in his arms. “Juvia, wake up. Come on, you are scaring me here.” He whispered to her but she didn’t move. Gray noticed how pale she was, contrasting with the red patches of skin that were red.

From time to time, he glanced at the man he had knocked out just to make sure he wasn’t waking up and a few minutes after the altercation, he heard Martha saying: “Here! They are in here!”

Gray looked over his shoulder once again and saw two policemen enter the apartment. “She’s unconscious.” He told them, unnecessarily but he didn’t know what else to say. “I-I-I got here and he was attacking her, I-I… She hadn’t woken up.”

One of the policemen stepped out of the apartment and yelled for the paramedics to come while the other one, looked between the couple and the unconscious man. “Who are you?”

“Her boyfriend.” Gray told him as the officer went to cuff the other man. “He was attacking her when I arrived.”

“Who is this one?”

“I don’t…” Gray started to answer but then he finally managed to think for a moment. _Of course._ They had spoken to the Detective just a week before and by the general description Juvia had given of Bora, it would be _too much_ of a coincidence to be anyone else but the son of a bitch. “I think he is her ex. I’ve never seen a picture of him, but…” Gray felt Juvia stir in his arms and he looked down to her, relief flooding him to see her eyes open. She blinked a few times and he asked, gently. “Juvia, can you hear me?” She looked around in terror until she spotted the policeman and the man who attacked her. Juvia held onto Gray, glaring at them. “You are safe, you are safe.” She calmed down slightly.

“Miss, do you know this man?” The officer asked.

“Bora.” She hissed, her voice rough because of how she was choked.

“Her ex-boyfriend.” Gray explained to him. “He is being looked into for crimes in Oak Town.”

“What crimes?”

Before Gray could answer him, the paramedics arrived, a gurney between them and Gray’s attention went to them. “She was being choked when I got here and she was unconscious for… I don’t know, five, seven minutes?”

“We need to take a look at her.” The female paramedic told him while the other went to check Bora. “Let her go so we can put her on the gurney.”

Gray nodded and looked at his girlfriend, who didn’t seem to want to let it go. “Juvia, they need to examine you.” She held onto him tighter. “Juvia?” The blunette shook her head, hiding her face on his chest.

“Miss Juvia, I need to see your injuries.” The paramedic said but Juvia didn’t release him in the slightest.

Gray was about to suggest for him to just carry her when he had an idea – Juvia’s desire to see him taken care of would probably take priority over herself being comforted by his embrace. “Hey, Juvia… They need to look at me too.” He lied, knowing he would feel guilty about it later, but the situation called for it. She tensed. “Bora managed to hit me too and the paramedics need to have a look too and they can’t do that with us so close together.”

“…okay?” Juvia’s voice was hoarse and he could see her worried look as she touched his cheek, where he was sure would be purple soon.

“I’m fine, but they need to examine us, okay?” Gray took her hand and kissed it. “I will stay by your side, but you need to let her examine you.” It took her a couple of seconds to loosen her grip on him. “Good. Thank you.” He said, relieved and nodded at the paramedic. “I’m right here.”

**#**

Gray waited while Juvia was being examined at the hospital – choking was a serious matter and could have major consequences later on. He saw some policemen a few steps away from him and he took his phone from his pocket and cringed at the time, yet he needed to make a few phone calls.

Finding his father’s number, Gray pressed it. He was feeling very tired, the places where Bora had hit him, were throbbing but her had taken punches before, he would be alright with some painkillers and ice.

“ _Hello?_ ” His father’s sleepy voice broke Gray’s thoughts. “ _Gray?_ ”

“Hey, dad.” Gray cleared his throat.

“ _Is everything alright?_ ” Silver asked, concerned. “ _It’s one in the morning._ ”

“Dad, I can’t go home tomorrow. Today, I mean.” Gray passed a hand over his face – damn it, his knuckles hurt.

“ _Why? What’s wrong?_ ” He heard his mother ask what was happening. “ _He says he can’t come home tomorrow._ ” Gray could hear his mother saying ‘Put him on speaker’. “ _Gray, you are on speaker so your mother can hear you too._ ”

“ _Gray? What happened?_ ” Ur asked.

“I…” Gray sighed. “I’m at the hospital, Juvia… Juvia’s here.”

“ _Is she alright?_ ” Ur gasped.

“ _What happened?_ ” Silver wondered.

“Her ex-boyfriend attacked her, he’s a son of a bitch but I don’t have time to explain why.” Gray was frustrated. “She’s being looked over right now, but the paramedic said she would probably be okay.” He let out a shaky breath when he remembered her screams and seeing her unconscious. “When I got at her apartment, he had his hands around her neck.”

“ _He_ what _?_ ” Silver sounded flabbergasted.

“I pulled him off her, hit him a few times. He got unconscious and so did Juvia.” Gray tried to summon up. “The police showed up, then the paramedics and they brought us to the hospital.”

“ _How are you? Are you hurt?_ ” Ur asked.

“The bastard managed to hit me a couple of times, but nothing to worry about; I’ve got into worse brawls with Lyon.” Gray reassured his mother. “I just wanted to let you know I can’t go home.” His parents were silent for a couple of seconds and Gray could see them in his mind having a conversation with their eyes.

“ _Don’t worry about it, son._ ” Silver said.

“ _We will go to you._ ” Ur said, decisively.

“You don’t have to-” Gray tried, but his father cut him.

“ _Yes, we do. You are hurt, your girlfriend is in the hospital. If there’s a time for us to go, is now._ ”

“ _It’s too late to go tonight, but we are leaving early._ ” Ur told him.

“Okay.” Gray didn’t say, but he was glad his parents were coming, how childish was that? Crap, speaking of family, he needed to call Gajeel to let him know what happened. “Mom, dad, I need to call some other people and I need to find Juvia’s doctor and the police said a detective was coming to question me.”

“ _Of course. Call us if you need anything, Gray._ ” Ur told him.

“ _Send us a message once you see her. Or you can call us, it’s fine too._ ”

“I will, dad.” Gray told them. “My phone’s battery is very low, I’ll ask someone to bring me a charger, but if I can’t and you can’t get in contact with me, don’t worry, okay? We are at Magnolia’s General Hospital.”

“ _Got it._ ” Silver said. “ _Don’t worry, kid, she’s a tough girl, she will be fine. See you in the morning._ ”

“Thanks, dad. See you in the morning.”

Gray was about to call Gajeel when he saw Juvia’s doctor and he walked towards the woman, Doctor Walls, and he was suddenly nervous something was awfully wrong. Gray had met the doctor when they arrived and he explained what had happened to the best of his knowledge. “How is she?”

“I gave her a sedative, so she could sleep for a few hours – she doesn’t have a concussion, which is good. I think she must’ve fainted due the choking or shock, but aside from a few bruises, she will be physically alright.” The Doctor told him and Gray sighed in relief. “I would like to keep her overnight just to be safe, though.”

“Yes, thank you.” Gray offered her his hand and she shook it. “Can you tell me her room number?”

“Of course; room 314, bed four.” Doctor Walls informed. “She’s probably there already, I asked the nurses to take her after the exams.”

“Thanks.”

**#**

It wasn’t often Gray realized how fragile his girlfriend was, mostly because she was always such an energetic and positive person. Juvia had been through a lot of crap yet, she kept smiling and being the kind person she was – Gray was certain were he the one going through some rough trials, he would be a _wreck_.

Seeing Juvia on the hospital bed, bandages around her neck and bruises getting purple all over her face, Gray wondered where she got her strength from.

“Fuck, Juvia.” Gray squeezed her hand and saw the red tips of her fingers – she probably scratched that bastard a lot. “Good.” He whispered, glad he had pulled the curtain of her bay to give them some privacy, thankfully the bed next to hers was empty and the other room occupants seemed to be asleep, their own curtains, draw. “I hope the doctors took the evidence from this.” The blunette didn’t move and Gray gulped, feeling guilty. “Shit. What if you hadn’t lost your phone? What if this had happened tomorrow? I would be at my parents’ and had no idea what was happening.” Gray muttered. “If this had happened a couple of months ago I would’ve been out of the _country_.” He closed his eyes and kissed her hand. “Fuck, I wouldn’t know what to do if something had happened and I weren’t here.”

He felt his phone vibrate and saw the notification about it being only with twenty per cent battery and groaned in annoyance – he had calls to make, even though it was almost two in the morning.

Gray got up from the chair next to her bed and kissed her forehead. “I’ll step outside for a few minutes, okay?” He told her even though she was pretty out of it. “I’ll be right back.”

The moment he was outside, Gray moved his hand, flexing his hurting knuckles and was going to ask the nurses for something to help with the swelling of his hand when he felt someone grab him, turn him around and pin him on the wall.

Gray’s eyes widened when he saw Gajeel was the one who had grabbed him, but before he could say anything, Gajeel growled: “What did you _do_ to her?”

“What?” Gray all but shrieked, confused and he gasped when Gajeel put his forearm on Gray’s throat, pressing it kind of hard.

“I’m her emergency contact. They said her _boyfriend_ had hit her.” Gajeel’s red eyes were boiling with anger and Gray knew he didn’t care they were in a hospital, if the older man thought he had hurt Juvia, he was going to pay.

“Fuck, Gajeel, it wasn’t _me_!” Gray managed to say. “ _Bora_ is here.”

Hearing the son of a bitch’s name, Gajeel frowned and stopped pressing his forearm on Gray’s throat. Thankfully the corridor was deserted at the moment so Gajeel wouldn’t get himself arrested for it. “Bora?”

“Yes!” Gray pushed Gajeel away, glaring at him. He liked the protective streak, but _not_ to be the reason for it. “I would _never_ hurt her!”

“What is going on?” Gajeel was clearly upset, concerned and angry at the situation. “Where is she? _How_ is she?”

“The doctor said she is going to be alright.” Gray told him. “She’s resting and I’ll take you there in a bit.” He sighed, tired. “Juvia didn’t tell you about the visit of a detective last week?” Gajeel’s confused look said it all. “I’ll take that as a no. You do know that I know what happened between her and Bora, right?” That time Gajeel nodded. “Well, after that, no news until last week when Detective Ryan appeared.”

It took Gray a couple of minutes to tell him everything that happened, including how Juvia’s phone had made Gray turn and go back to meet her.

“She didn’t tell me any of this.” Gajeel looked confused.

“My bet? She thought she was protecting you.” Gray told him. “She said you were very worked up about Bora before and that he threatened you back then.” Gajeel nodded. “Juvia probably didn’t want you to worry.”

“She’s stupid, then.” Gajeel was angry. “ _Idiot_.”

“Alright, calm down.”

“Oh, _shut up_. You would’ve been pissed too if you were the one who was kept in the dark about this crap.”

“Yes, but you would’ve told me to calm down too.” Gray said. “You can yell at her when she’s out of the hospital.”

“Shit.” Gajeel hissed. “Show me where she is.”

Gray just nodded and led them towards the room. “She’s on the bed of the far end. The doctor told me she’s sedated for a few hours, though so don’t expect her to wake up for a while.” Gray hesitated. “It’s not an easy sight, I must warn you. I wish I could’ve arrived sooner.” He said, feeling guilty.

“You did what you could.” Gajeel finally seemed a little less angry – at least at Gray. “She’s alive and she will be alright. When she wakes up, we are going to have a little chat about this.” Gray nodded one time. “Do you… know where Bora is being held?” Gajeel asked, trying to be nonchalant about it.

“No.” Gray told him honestly. “He will be under police protection, though, so it would be no use for us to know where he is; we wouldn’t get near him. Plus, Juvia would be pissed off we went after him.”

“Pfff, I can handle her.” Gajeel looked down to Gray’s hands. “Got him good, I hope.”

“Enough to make him unconscious.”

“Hm.” Gajeel gaze went to the closed curtain of Juvia’s bay. “Will have to do until we get to see him going to jail.”

“Yeah.” Gray agreed. “You go ahead and see her. I need to call someone to bring some clothes to Juvia for her discharge tomorrow and a charger – my phone is dying and I don’t want to get out of touch, my parents are coming.”

Gajeel nodded and entered the room. Gray watched his friend’s face harden in anger when he pulled the curtain to see Juvia lying on the bed. A moment later, his expression saddened and he stepped inside the bay.

It would be a long night, Gray knew, and the moment he stopped to try to rest, the guilt of everything would finally settle in but until then, he needed to get a level head.

Gray grabbed his phone – 15%, _shit_ – and found Lucy’s contact easily. It rang three times before Gray heard it get answered.

“ _What?_ ” Natsu’s voice surprised him for some reason – so much that Gray pulled the phone from his ear to check if he had called the right person and he had.

“Hey, Natsu. Can I speak with Lucy?”

“ _Gray?_ ” Natsu’s tone was clearly of confusion. “ _Do you know what time it is, man?_ ”

“Yeah. I need to speak to Lucy, though.” God, Gray was so fucking _tired_. He wanted to go home and curl with Juvia under his blankets and sleep for a _week_.

“ _What’s going on?_ ”

He sighed. “Remember last year when Juvia freaked out about meeting her ex’s friend?” Natsu agreed. “Remember when I told you if you met him you could kick his ass because he’s an asshole?”

“ _Yeah._ ”

“Well, I met said asshole tonight, punched him but he got to Juvia before I got there.” Gray informed his friend. “We’re in the hospital.”

“ _What? Is she okay?_ ”

“She will be.” Gray said. “Can I please talk to Lucy, now? I need some things from Juvia’s apartment and she lives the closest out of all our friends.”

“ _We are at my place, but sure, I’ll drive us there_.” Natsu clearly put the phone away but Gray could still hear him talk to his girlfriend softly, to wake her. Gray flexed his hand to try to soothe the pain once more and thought again how he really needed to have it looked at.

A few seconds later, Lucy’s sleepy voice came from his phone. “ _Gray? What’s wrong?”_

“Hey, Lucy. Sorry to wake you two up, but I really need you guys’ help.” Gray looked down to his watch on his wrist and saw it wasn’t even two thirty in the morning yet and he felt even more tired.

It would be a long night indeed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Did you enjoy seeing Gajeel once again? It’s been a while since he appeared! Next chapter we will see more of our girl while she’s conscious, don’t worry.


	21. Still Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update!

 

Juvia woke up slowly and pain was the first thing she felt was pain all over. She tried to open her eyes and failed a couple of times – her mind felt groggy, what happened and what was that annoying beeping sound?

When she finally opened her eyes and focused her vision, she realized she was in a hospital bed and the events of that night finally came to her.

Bora.

Bora had found her, hit her and chocked her. Her hand seemed to weight a ton when she raised to touch the bandages around her throat. Bora almost made her faint, but then, she remembered her Gray-sama appearing at her apartment. Why, though? He had dropped her off and gone home...

...oh, her phone. She forgot it in his car and he came back to return it.

Juvia’s eyes were much more focused and she finally looked around – she was attached to a machine (so that’s where the annoying beep was coming from) – and saw Gray slouched, eyes closing as he was falling asleep on what seemed a very uncomfortable chair.

She must’ve made some noise because his eyes widened and he looked up and sighed in relief.

“Hey.” He took one of her hands and squeezed it and under further inspection from Juvia, she saw he had a black eye. “How are you feeling?”

“Hurts.” She managed to say and Gray quickly grabbed a bottle of water from the nightstand and offered it to her, to her relief. She was finding very hard to speak so she just asked: “Bora?”

“The police has him.” Gray told her and she sighed in relief. “I called Detective Ryan and he’s coming down here.”

It took Juvia great strength but she nodded. “You?”

He put a hand on the top of her head, caressing her hair. “Just a black eye, bruised knuckles, nothing too serious.”

“Juvia?” She wondered, her throat hurting.

Gray sighed. “You have some bruising on your face, your torso. You’ll be sore for a while but you will be fine.” He said with barely contained anger. “And you shouldn’t speak unless you have to. You have to heal your throat too.” Juvia nodded.

“You look tired.” She whispered, trying not to upset her throat.

He snorted. “Well, it’s been a crazy night.”

“Sorry.” She felt guilty.

“Hey, this isn’t your fault, it’s Bora’s.” Gray told her. “The doctor said you will be discharged in a few hours, though; they kept you here just to be safe.”

“Okay.”

“You should rest.” He said and Juvia nodded – she was groggy enough to agree to take another nap.

The blunette had an idea and scooped farther from the edge of the bed, confusing her boyfriend until she patted next to her and Gray caught her intentions.

Gray circled the bed and, slowly so not to jostle her too much, he lied down next to her and since the bed was small, they had to lie on their side, Gray’s front touching Juvia’s back and she felt much safer, then. He was careful to put his arm loosely over her waist and he kissed the back of her neck.

“I called Gajeel, by the way.” He told her in a whisper, already falling asleep. “He went to get something to eat and must be returning soon. He is your emergency contact.”

“He is.” Juvia’s own eyelids were starting to drop and soon, both their breathings were even as sleep took over them.

**#**

The second time Juvia woke up, it was Gajeel who was sitting on the chair, instead of Gray and he was looking straight at her.

They looked at each other for a few seconds as Juvia caught up with her surroundings and she frowned in confusion when she didn’t feel Gray’s body touching hers. She looked over her shoulder and he wasn’t there.

“His folks arrived a few minutes ago, he’s with them.” Gajeel informed her.

“Oh.” Why were they in Magnolia? Her head was still a but fuzzy.

“How are you feeling? No lying.” He warned his friend.

“Like I was beaten half to death.” Her throat felt much better, then.

“Looks like it too.” Gajeel told her, nonchalantly.

Juvia snorted. “You just have _a way_ with women…”

Gajeel shrugged. “I’m not gonna lie to make you feel better.” He looked at her pointedly. “Never did before, won’t start now.”

The blunette sighed. “Juvia didn’t _lie_.”

“Lied by omission.” Gajeel told her, crossing his scarred arms over his chest. “This is _Bora_ , Juvia, the freaking nightmare of your life and you didn’t tell me.” She opened her mouth to protest but he beat her to it. “Don’t tell me it was to protect me.” Juvia closed her mouth, then, because that was her argument. “Fullbuster told me what’s been going on but you and I are going to sit down and talk when you are feeling better.”

Juvia nodded and suddenly, her eyes started to water. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t cry over it.” Gajeel dismissed her tears, his voice was softer. “What’s done is done and-”

“No, not that.” She shook her head. “You taught Juvia how to defend herself a-and when it counte-ted…” Juvia cried, thick tears falling from her eyes. “Juvia didn’t…”

Gajeel was clearly surprised with her words and it took him a few seconds of him looking at his friend crying before he managed to speak. “Okay, none of that.” He told her. “Look, you are damn good at protecting yourself, Juvia, but you were at your _home_ , the place you were supposed to _feel safe_ and you thought the person knocking was your boyfriend and you got caught off guard.” Gajeel said to his friend. “And from what I heard, you helped your boyfriend get free by using a tray? You fought back the best you could. You didn’t lose your cool and didn’t cower and most important: you survived.”

“You-you’re not mad?”

“Oh, I’m mad, alright, but not at _you_.” Gajeel’s eyes seemed to burn. “If Bora is ever put in front of me, I just need two minutes with him. Sadly only your boyfriend got to have some playtime with him.” Gajeel scowled at Juvia. “Now stop feeling guilty for crap that wasn’t your fault.”

Juvia offered him a small smile. “Okay.” She whispered, drying the tears.

“Good.” Gajeel nodded. “Now let’s get your in-laws in here. Apparently no one touches their _princess_ without them coming from another town on their first train.” He teased.

Juvia actually chuckled, making her chest hurt. “Stop it.”

**#**

Gajeel stepped from the medical bay so Gray could bring Ur and Silver into the room and the moment the older couple saw the young woman, they looked concerned and angry – Juvia hadn’t seen herself yet but by the way everyone was acting, it was bad.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Silver was the first to step closer.

“Hello, Silver-sama.” Juvia spoke shyly. “Ur-sama.” Gray and Ur were a bit behind.

“You got the guy who did this, right, son?” Ur’s tone was dark.

“Yes.” Gray nodded –  he looked less tired, perhaps their little nap helped him.

“That’s my boy.” Ur nodded, patting Gray on the back, and went to stand next to her husband. “You feel terrible, don’t you?”

Juvia thought of lying but by the way Ur’s dark eyes shone, she wouldn’t buy it at all. “Yes.”

Ur just nodded. “You need to get discharged soon and get some proper rest. These hospital beds are horrible and you feel more terrified than anything else.”

Thinking about going home to where she was attacked sent cold down her spine. It was her home, but now… now was the place she felt less safe in the world.

“You’ll be coming home with me.” Gray told her, sensing her being anxious. “Your apartment a mess and a crime scene yet, so I asked Lucy to get some of your stuff and you’ll be going to my apartment instead.”

Juvia felt relief flood her. Usually, she’d reject the ‘charity’ but not after that night. “Thank you.” She told her boyfriend who just offered her a tired smile.

“The police will talk to you, the doctor will stop by and see if you are okay to leave.” Gray informed her.

Suddenly she just wanted to get discharged, get a shower and lie down on Gray’s comfy’s bed wearing just one of his shirts and sleep for as long as she could.

“I called a lawyer.” Silver said from his spot by the end of Juvia’s bed. “He will call me to arrange a meeting when you are ready – both of you acted in self-defense but I want that son of a bitch to get as much time as he can get for assaulting you, Juvia-chan.” His voice was just a little louder than a whisper and filled with anger.

Gray and Juvia shared a look Ur didn’t miss. “What? What’s wrong?”

With a sigh, Juvia nodded at Gray – everyone would know what happened between her and Bora two years before either way, so it was better if it came from them.

Seeing Juvia wasn’t going to tell them (and was against medical advice to do so), Gray held Juvia’s hand and told his parents why Juvia was attacked that night: he told them the truth about what Bora.

By the end of it, Silver and Ur were both pale and shocked with the story. They looked appalled by everything.

Ur took a few steps closer so Juvia’s bed and took the hand Gray wasn’t holding. “You are braver than I thought and that’s saying something. Doing what you did isn’t easy.”

“It was nothing.”

“No.” Ur cut her. “You did what you could, you _are doing_ what you can right now. That scumbag will go to trial because you have the evidence you refused to give even under pressure, even after he hit you. That took guts. Don’t belittle yourself because it didn’t work two years ago, it will work now and we will damn sure it does.”

“No one messes with our family, sweetheart.” Silver put an arm around Ur’s shoulder. “And you are one of us now.”

Juvia started to cry and sob so much – finally feeling overwhelmed about the whole thing, her whole body ached. Her family had grown. It wasn’t just her and Gajeel against the world anymore.

They had backup now.

**#**

Gray had helped her get into the shower when they arrived at his apartment around noon, and he went in there with her, making sure she was steady enough and using the opportunity to clean himself as well.

Juvia could see the hatred in his eyes when he eyed each bruise on her body but he carefully helped her clean herself and get the hospital smell from both of them. Soon enough, Juvia was smelling like herself – she had left bottles of her hair products on his shower. He even washed her hair for her.

By the time they were finished, Juvia chose of Gray’s loose shirts to snuggle in, ignoring the bag of clothes Lucy had brought to the Hospital while Juvia slept.

Thankfully, there were enough establishments around to order food from an app so it was easy to get some soup for Juvia and Gray asked the same thing, too tired to think of anything more elaborated.

It was when Gray had finished taking care of her bruises as the doctor instructed and bandaging her throat, that their food arrived and since Juvia couldn’t take her meds with an empty stomach, she ate a little more than half of it before Gray gave her the painkillers that would soon make her drowsy again.

“It’s not fair your parents stay at a Hotel when you have a spare bedroom.” Juvia told him when he helped her into bed – she might’ve groaned a couple of times during the process.

“They want to give us some space. They will come for dinner. Our friends too, by the way. I managed to keep them away until nightfall by telling them you needed to rest, but they are coming over tonight.” Gray said, pulling down his shirt and pants so he could nap next to her – the blackout curtains helping a lot to put them both in the mood. “You should see Lucy when she stopped by the hospital and I didn’t let her come in to see you because once she saw you, she wouldn’t leave and with Gajeel and all, plus Natsu on her heels...”

“It’s okay.” She told her boyfriend, sighing and feeling exhausted and waited until he was lying next to her and awkwardly put his arms over her hips, ready to take them off if it bothered her, but Juvia turned around and attached herself to him almost like an octopus and he didn’t complain. “Wake me up in two weeks.”

Gray snorted and kissed the top of her head. “Wake me in _three_.”

**#**

She was alone when she woke up and she thought about sleeping a little longer, but she really needed to pee so getting up was mandatory.

After using the bathroom, Juvia walked out of the bedroom and heard Gray at the kitchen – only then she realized the sun was setting and he was making dinner.

“Hey.” Juvia said from the door and Gray looked up from the pan he was stirring and Juvia’s stomach grumbled in hunger.

“Hey.” He said. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” She told him truthfully – sleeping for six uninterrupted hours helped a lot. The painkillers helped a lot too.

Gray nodded. “I’m making dinner.” He said unnecessarily and she nodded. “There’s some juice in the fridge, drink a glass so you can take your meds and then go rest on the couch.”

“You’re being very bossy.” Juvia was amused, but found a glass to have some juice.

“Yeah, well, when it comes to _this_ , you bet your ass I will be.” Gray snorted and pointed a fork at her. “Juice, meds, couch.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” She rolled her eyes just for show, but loving to be treated with such care.

Juvia was watching some movie when there was a knock on the door and Juvia’s whole body went cold, flashbacks coming to her mind and she was up from the couch the same time she saw Gray exit the kitchen to answer it when she screamed.

“Don’t!” Gray all but jumped in surprise. She was pale, shaking and her heart seemed to want to burst from her chest. She was completely terrified. “Don’t answer the door!” She told him. “You don’t know… Bora…” Flashbacks of opening the door just to get punched over and over clouding her mind.

Understanding finally dawned in Gray’s face and his expression softened. “Juvia, Bora is in jail now. It’s probably my parents or our friends.” He stepped closer to her. “They are coming over, remember?”

Juvia’s breathing started to even out when there was another knock followed by the bell and she freaked out again. “I’m coming, stop knocking on the door!” Gray yelled at whomever was outside. “Juvia, look at me.” Her blue eyes met his dark ones. “We are fine. You are fine. I won’t let anything happen to you, alright?” She hesitated, but nodded. “I’m going to open the door now.” Slowly, he walked towards the door.

“Look through the magic eye first!” She told him in a whisper, still afraid even if she was far from the door and almost hiding behind a wall.

“Alright, alright.” He agreed and looked through the magic eye. “It’s my parents.” He told her and Juvia’s tension just eased a little and he noticed. “Mom? Dad? Can you confirm it’s you guys before I open the door?”

There was a moment of silence and then they heard Silver’s voice. “Uh… It’s us, son. Just me and your mother.”

Juvia relaxed further and Gray waited until she nodded before he opened the door. “Hey, mom, dad.”

“Hello, son.” Ur kissed Gray’s cheek and noticed Juvia almost hiding. She whispered just loud enough her son and her husband could hear. “What was that about?”

“Apparently, she’s afraid of opening doors now.” Gray whispered back.

“Understandable.” Silver said and then put on a bright smile on his lips. “Juvia-chan, sweetheart! How are you feeling?” He walked passed his son and wife to speak with the terrified young woman, who relaxed with his attitude. “What’s for dinner? It smells of pasta! Gray’s pasta!”

“It will take a while for her to feel safe again. Even here.” Ur told her son.

“I know.” Gray agreed. “She looks after other people and now it’s my turn to look after her and I’m here for that.”

Ur looked at him with pride in her eyes. “You became a wonderful man, Gray.”

He shrugged, non-committedly. “Just trying to be a decent boyfriend to make it up for the shitty one before me.”

“I think you already have, kid.” Ur put an arm around his shoulder and kissed his temple. “Now let’s finish that pasta of yours before your friends get here.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Juvia is still traumatized. Understandably so, of course. I hope you liked the chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here is chapter one and we had Gray's POV. The next one, it will be from Juvia and we'll learn more about her and see more about their relationship. BTW, I hope you don't mind me marrying Ur off with Silver. They will appear later on.
> 
> And about Gray, I'm trying to make him a normal college boy. We'll see his problems with letting people in by bits, after all, Ur is still alive in this story.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> 11/05/2015 ~ BonneyQ
> 
>  


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